"It was probably a grace that Brenda passed away, I thought. My elderly neighbor was a severely addicted alcoholic, and, from what I saw, her life had little meaning. The few times I attempted to converse with Brenda I looked into her eyes, and it appeared that no one was home. She had to be in a better place now, I imagined. Then I talked to Marvin, a man whom Brenda and her husband had taken in as a caretaker. Marvin felt a great sense of loss in Brenda’s death.
“She was so good to me,” Marvin tearfully confided. “Like a mother. I will miss her a lot.”
Through Marvin’s words, I gained a profound realization: I saw only one limited aspect of Brenda’s life.
Even while I judged her life as empty, she had riches. She loved someone, and someone loved her. Her life, broken as it appeared to me, was a blessing to at least one other person. In spite of the ravages I beheld, God lived through her.
The Bible tells us not to judge - not because we should not judge, but because we cannot judge. When we hold a judgment about someone, we are focusing on one moment from one angle. At another moment or from another angle, we would see an entirely different person or story.
While visiting a children’s zoo, I watched a man become very abusive at the snack bar, ranting and raving at the clerk over a minor mishap. I thought, This guy is one ornery hombre. A few minutes later, I saw a man feeding a fawn through a fence. As he tenderly stroked the deer’s nose and gave it love, he reminded me of St. Francis. When he turned his head, I saw that it was the same man who created the scene at the snack bar.
When we release judgment, we find God in every person. Moreover, we free ourselves to be lovable and forgivable.
Judgment is illusion, and love is real".
I focus on the good and let all else go.
No comments:
Post a Comment