Lollipop man

Last week, a lollipop man slowly shook his head at me. I felt ashamed. In my defense I couldn't see the family who were waiting to cross the road because they were obscured by a big white van. The lollipop man did not hold his lollipop aloft, he just stood with it beside him, so I do not feel that I am quite as guilty as my shame indicates. The week before last, a child told me that the lollipop lady at our school had been knocked over by a police car which had clipped her lollipop with his wing mirror, and spun her round and round until she fell over and broke her wrist. It turned out not to be true. She had in fact, tripped over the kerb shortly after a police car drove past her. Sometimes things seem worse than they really are. I remember the first time I gave blood.  It had taken ages for them to get the first half pint so somebody came and shoved the needle in my arm a bit further. I felt all of my blood drain from the top of my head, down my face, into my neck, down my left arm and out into the bag. "Ooh, it's coming out now," the nurse almost screeched. They fetched damp flannels and a doctor. One hour, three cups of tea and five custard creams later I was still on the donor bed. A sombre looking nurse approached. "We don't think you should give blood again, it might bring on your epilepsy." "I don't have epilepsy," I assured her. The nurse was insistent. "Even if you had epilepsy as a child it could trigger it, so thank you very much for coming in but we think it's best if you don't donate again." Another sombre face nurse arrived. "Not her, the woman in that bed." I don't remember an apology, they just left me and went to give the bad news to the woman on that bed.
God has had to speak to me about exaggerating the bad. He never does it. As far as God is concerned, "The sacrifice (the blood) of Jesus his son, cleanses us from ALL sin." (1 John 1 v 9) and "There is therefore now, NO condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus."  We can be free from guilt, free from shame, free from beating ourselves up about our failures. God doesn't exaggerate how bad you are and neither does He exaggerate how much he loves you.  If we will truly accept the goodness of God, it will obliterate our badness.