Zoe's Weight

It may be possible for each to think too much of his own
potential glory hereafter; it is hardly
possible for him to think too often or too
deeply about that of his neighbour.

The load, or weight, or burden of my
neighbour’s glory should be laid daily on
my back, a load so heavy that only
humility can carry it, and the backs of the
proud will be broken.

It is a serious thing
to live in a society of possible gods and
goddesses, to remember that the dullest
and most uninteresting person you talk to
may one day be a creature which, if you
saw it now, you would be strongly tempted
to worship, or else a horror and a
corruption such as you now meet, if at all,
only in a nightmare.

All day long we are,
in some degree, helping each other to one
or other of these destinations. It is in the
light of these overwhelming possibilities, it
is with the awe and the circumspection
proper to them, that we should conduct all
our dealings with one another, all
friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.
There are no ordinary people. You have
never talked to a mere mortal.

One thing i notice about Zoe's life-changing time with me is that her life-changing abilities may have more to do with me than Zoe herself.

I know that Zoe is a gift. That each breath she takes is a victory. That her smiles, her sighs, her eyes are all wonderments.

But can I not attribute the same glory to my other children? To you?

C.S. Lewis in the above "Weight of Glory" addresses our indefensible treatment of each other. How our actions are helping push someone to heaven or hell. Everyone is a Zoe, whose breaths are numbered, whose days are short. Whose frailty, while better hidden, is apparent.

We bear the weight of Zoe's glory. It is a heavy load. But we also should equally bear the weight of our neighbor and our daughter and our boyfriend's glory. What if any of those had days to live? Would you be so cavalier with them? Would you pray for them a little more? Take their words and pains a little more seriously?