Reflection
It was not until I noticed the clear spots on the glass that I realised how much that window could do with cleaning!
How anyone is going to get inside that double-glazed unit to give it a going-over with vinegar & squeegee is another matter. No wonder that job hasn’t been done in years.
How much more work there is still to be done on scrubbing, drying, and polishing our souls – mine anyway! Thank God (literally) it is something which the ever-attentive Holy Spirit reveals only gradually: bit by bit; and, Julian observes, always in the right context of confidence in God’s power and will to heal.
I do delight in God’s commands, but keep doing precisely what I do not want to do: obviously not all of me shares in that delight. TG Jesus Christ can and does get this sorted!
Romans 7:22 ff
When God reminded me that I would sin, I was so enjoying the sight of Him that I wasn’t really paying attention to that bit. God stopped, and gently waited until I was ready to listen, before continuing.
(Julian of Norwich, ‘A Revelation of Love’ Chapter 78, similarly in Chapter 37)
Prayer
God,
give me the grace
to see myself as others see me, but not all at once!
Thank You that, seeing us more truly than anyone else does, You love as we are,
because You take us
for what we shall be in You.
Amen
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Action
We can be kind to ourselves when we realise we haven’t been doing as well as we had imagined.
We can be kind to other people when we see them not doing as well as they think they are. We can take the option of just doing as bidden, even when directives do not make much sense, or quietly asking for clarification. If we think it does fall to us to advise how someone else might do better, we can tone down voice and choice of words, however exasperated we may feel; we can offer clear, positive suggestions for how to do things differently; etc.
A reflection from Jennifer Brooker ObJN, who has been a frequent visitor of Sarum College. She has a degree in Modern Languages from the University of Oxford and master’s degree in theology awarded by Durham University.
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