True Colors

There's a purple church in Hollywood--you may have seen it--just off the 101 at Hollywood Boulevard.

Yes, it's purple.

Now, from what I gather it wasn't always purple.  Something about the sun shining on the tile and the weatherproofing that was used that turned this house of worship a light purple.

It's subtle.  It's also unmistakable.  

The original designers and builders didn't intend for that church to turn purple, you know.  And I can imagine that the congregation of that purple church, at one point, found themselves in a state of dismay over the color change.  But do you know what they've done?

They've embraced it.  Check it out: www.hollywoodsda.org.  Their website pops up in varying shades of purple.  Their online blog is called "The Purple Journal."  

All of which makes me wonder how those of us who call ourselves a "people of faith" deal with change--the unexpected surprises that seem to develop out of nowhere sometimes.  What do we do when life turns us purple?

Do we then turn black with rage?  Green with envy?  Red with shame?  Blue with sadness?

It seems to me that we have a choice.  And how we choose to embrace an ever-changing world reveals what you might just call our "true colors."

Don't put your trust in the things of this world "...where moth and rust destroy" 

(and occasionally things turn purple)