Remember the faces of your greatest friends, and look into the eyes of your enemy. See God in each person, whether they are full of love and true humanity, or they are a monster and a villain.
I am hoping I come to a place where I only focus on my own sin, and soley celebrate the mercy of God on earth. I pray that I would always consider His great love shown toward me, so that I would show it to others. Blaming and shaming others is almost default when I forget this. I put on a mask of pride, but my very being is drowned in regret and hatred. Trauma and self inflicted isolation has been my undoing.
But I find it most important to remember in times of crisis that there is an enemy who wishes to destroy me from within; but infinitely more powerful is Christ who has shined on me since baptism and seeks to build me up and draw me to Life Himself.
In reflection of recent events, I feel I’ve pushed through something painful, and taken a step toward love. A step I couldn’t take for a long time. And I couldn’t have done it without the prayers of all those around me, the saints, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. I’m just thankful for the continued love of Christ in my life, and especially in the lives of my family. Thank God!