Grant what thou commandest and then command what thou
wilt. -- Saint Augustine
This is a wonderful reminder to me of the teaching that God
performs that which is given me to do…that He goes before me to make the
crooked places straight.
For me, the hardest part in living by spiritual
principles has been the inside change…learning to let God remove my defects of
character rather than working to remove them myself (which consisted primarily
of me worrying about it).
I’ve heard it said a defect of character is that which I
find useful and others find irritating.
I find that trying to remove my own defects of character
through self-will alone really is like trying to prove a negative…in short,
impossible. The resistance to the defect acts, in effect, as a
nutrient…the more attention I give it, positive or negative, the more it
grows.
That’s the cosmic wonder of “Thank You”…when I find myself
in the midst of a defect of character, I’ve learned to just shoot a “Thank You”
and relax. It’s not mine to worry about. It is mine to see clearly…to see
exactly how it is negatively impacting me and those about me, because there is
the source of all my woes.
That’s when the above quotes warm my heart, give me comfort,
and let me let go.
Thank You.
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