Most of my life could be described with a “but” statement.  People say things like, “I enjoy his preaching, but he is not very good with people.” Others have said, “I like his personality, but I don’t like his leadership.” The list of possibilities is long: “He is a good father, but …  He is a good husband, but …  He is a good Christian, but ….” 

There are things people love about me, and then some clarifying statement always follows it.  In other words, I have my act together in one area of life, but another area needs drastic improvement. 

One of my new goals in life is to slowly change my “but” comments to “and” before I die.  I want people to say things about me that include the word “and.” Something like, “I enjoyed his preaching, and he lived what he preached.” Possibly, “He was a nice guy, and he was there for you when you needed him.” I want people to say nice things and then want to add to it and not clarify. 

This means pushing myself every day to improve in the facets of my life where I have shortcomings.  That leads me to do things that seem unnatural and uncomfortable.  I also realize it requires me to fail repeatedly until I get it right.  The changes are not always immediate and are taking a lifetime to take hold.  One day I hope to be the kind of person God desires, and that means making an effort to change my “buts” to “ands.”