OCTOBER 26
Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restless-
ness...Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into
our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying, “You
are accepted.”
—PAUL TILLICHHow we berate ourselves. Why aren’t we able to look beyond
this? Why aren’t we better grievers? If we are people of faith,
why aren’t we able to let the faith we profess sustain us?
There’s more. What about those times we snapped at our
loved one, or weren’t sensitive to his or her questions and
state of mind, or went somewhere else when we knew that
person would relish a visit from us? And on and on.
Would our loved one want us to feel all this extra anguish
in addition to the sorrow of our loss? Was our loved one
perfect? Is anyone?
No more are we. And don’t have to be. No one else expects
that of us, nor do we of others.
Most of us do the best we can. So let’s walk out of the
brooding darkness of self-condemnation, take a deep breath,
turn toward the light of love which embraces us all, and
hear those words—“Let go of all that. ‘You are accepted.’”
For this moment, at least, I will let go of all those questions about
my self-worth and know that I am acceptable just as I am.