By

Sue Karpovich

Text of Reflection:  
February 18, 2008

“I’m sorry”…how many times do we hear that in a day, a week, a month?  Sometimes it’s coming out of our own mouths and many times those of our friends and family.  We try hard to live by God’s commandments, do the right things, and keep his laws, but sometimes our humanness just gets the better of us and we fall away from the path.  But God is always there to pick us up, dust us off, and set us back on the road again.

Being a parent is a wonderful example of this forgiveness, unconditional love, and being given a clean slate to try it over again, hoping to get it right the next time.  Just like a baby taking their first steps and falling, we are taking baby steps on our journey of faith.  As we grow we will master many tasks, learn many lessons, but that won’t keep us from ever falling again. 

How many times have we said words we wish we could take back?  How many times have we done something to someone else that we regret?  But that doesn’t keep God from loving us.  We are more to him than just the poor choices we make in life.  He sees us—and everyone—not for our wrongdoing but for the love we have for him and for one another.  He is a patient parent, waiting for us to grow, learn, and change into the person he knows we can be.

How much more peaceful would the world be if we just treated everyone like we wish we could be treated?  (If I could only start at home!)  No one likes to be judged, have their faults pointed out, or be belittled for their behavior, viewpoint on issues, or the way they do things.  We don’t like it when others take us to task and we should refrain from doing it to anyone else.  Without a doubt our closest relationships, where we feel most loved and comfortable, are our biggest challenges in this area.  We are confident in our relationships with those closest to us and often treat them the harshest, knowing that their love for us will overcome the bad mood, hurtful words, feeling ignored or slighted.  God is present to us in those people—through their mercy, their patience, and their love—and to them through us when we do the same.

So, merciful God, look past my sins to the me that tries to be a better person.  Pick me up, dust me off, and set me back on the road again—day after day after day.  Be merciful, oh God, and help me return that mercy to you by being merciful and generous to others.