In life, I’ve found that it’s not unusual for us to be harder on ourselves than anyone else would ever be.

I recently had an opportunity to go to Reconciliation. When I finished confessing my sins, I was asked a question. A question I had never been asked before, and it caught me off guard.

“Well, what do you think a good penance would be?”

After several awkward moments of silence I said, “Wow, that’s a hard one.”

“Well, what would help you not to repeat these sins again?” He asked.

“Taking time in this busy season to listen better to God’s whispers,” I replied.

“What time of day works best to do this?”

“Early morning.”

“Then for your pence, take a few minutes tomorrow morning to think and meditate on the Holy Spirit’s inspiring you to listen for God’s directions in your life. Okay?”

 “Yes, but, a few minutes, I was thinking like at least 30 minutes to sit and think about listening.”

“Well, I didn’t want to make this too arduous for you.”

Once again, I was going to be harder on myself than anyone else.

It’s that just like God! We have a loving, merciful, grace-giving God. God loves us, knows us by name, knows the number of hairs on our head, knows when we sit or when we stand. We are often harder on ourselves than God will ever be. He is simply waiting for us. If we turn from the Father, we are turning into the open arms of Jesus Christ. God’s got our back, he’ll protect us, and he’ll not forsake us. God is with us always.

I think I might get up early again tomorrow morning to listen to God’s whispers.

Prayer

God, help me to hear your whisperings.

Teach me to slow down.

In this busy season show me how to be trusting like Joseph must have been.

Thank you, Lord.