Oh Iris

Well there you have it. When you thought NI politics couldn't get any more...surprising? hypocritical? embarrassing? It has emerged that the woman who called gay people an abomination had an affair with another man. There she was flinging names about, calling homosexuality worse than child abuse, and quoting the Bible at people, while it seems just a few months later she was going against numero 7 in Moses' big list of 'things we shouldn't ever do'. It is kind of hard not to smile, even just a little bit.

And there was Peter, sitting in his v-neck sweater, in front of a 'best dad ever' sign (or words to that effect) looking every bit the Grimm brother, but for all the wrong reasons, saying he'd forgiven his wife and that they were trying to work through their problems.

Boom. The smile went right from my face (eh...assuming it was there in the first place).

You see, I don't get to look on her, no matter what I think of her, and laugh. Or judge. It's something about casting the first stone. And yes, maybe that's something Iris should have thought about before she said what she said about gay people. But maybe it's not helpful to point that out. In her statement, Iris said she had asked for forgiveness from God and that's for her to do. Nothing to do with me.

But tonight I was reminded that He is the God of second chances, of fourteenth chances, of fourteenth hundred chances. And that no matter how dark the hour, God hearts me. And you.