Going the Distance

Last week I was moved by the words in my daily meditation from Richard Rohr. (Incidentally, if you're interested in getting Richard Rohr's mediations yourself, or you just want to know more about him and his Center for Action and Contemplation, you can click here).

Anyway, here's what I read that resonated the most with me:

"God’s one-of-a-kind job description is that God actually uses our problems to lead us to the full solution. God is the perfect Recycler, and in the economy of grace, nothing is wasted, not even our worst sins and our most stupid mistakes."

This is what I am learning.

It is also what I meant when I said that God takes our sins and then gives them back to us transformed.   Because it turns out that most of the things in our lives that  we've done (or are doing) wrong aren't bad things.   They are simply things that we use in a bad way.   

Take for instance the thing of judgment.  This is, in fact, one of the things I "gave up" last year.    And what I learned is that judgment is, in and of itself, neither good nor bad. 

Case in point:  If I said to you that I was thinking of hiring someone to work for me (which is quite hysterical since I am a stay at home mom, but still...) and you said, "Be careful, she's very judgmental."  I might be cautious of hiring her because your comment suggests I might be hiring someone who isn't very open to other ways of thinking and who isn't likely to be a team player.   Now, if you said about the same person, "She uses good judgment."  I would take this to mean that she is a careful thinker and takes time to weigh the options before making a decision. 

In both cases the thing being used is judgment.  The difference in what makes it "good judgment" or "bad judgment" lies in how we use it.

I didn't always know this.

But it is why now, when I see a problem (sin), I prayerfully do my best to look it square in the eye.  Because then I can see it in its fullness and take comfort in knowing that somewhere, deep within my heart, lies a clear solution, too.

The only difficulty, really, is in my willingness to go the distance to find it.