"Brothers and sisters, if you're seeking to lead a good life, sooner or later every one of you is going to be led to that point. Every one of us is led, sooner or later, to the ashpit with Job 'picking at our own sores.'(Job 2:8) At that time you will hear many voices (symbolized by the various advice-giving friends of Job). Pray that you know which friends to listen to and which are being 'reasonable' at the price of faith."(R.Rohr "Radical Grace" p.311)
I've been blessed to not have reached that Jobian point of sitting in the ashpit. I've had some seriously rough patches, that one could argue might have been close, to where I might have been ready to curse God, doubt the existence of God etc. However, I found that faith and especially the friend that are gifts from God in my life are what got me through that period.
It is true that when we have something go terribly wrong, we will hear all kinds of voices, and sometimes it will even feel as if we have no one, even with all those voices.
For me the most trusted voices are the ones that are actually doing less talking and more listening. Who are not scared of the steam coming out of my ears. Those who won't immediately try to fix me, just so they can be comfortable around me again.
There's all kinds of "helpful advice" that comes from all directions. The truly sound advice and the one that has your best interests at heart, is the one that will be clear, will speak to your heart and you'll know it is the right one when you hear it.
Blessings,
Ed
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment