This Might Make You Angry but I Don't Care

                        Contrary to popular theology, God isn't very interested in our suffering, or in our stories of trauma and victimhood. We invest so much energy in these stories, yet they keep telling themselves more insistently, without healing or resolution. Why? Because what we focus on just grows louder in our life.

The truth is, there are wondrous souls who carry more pain than you will ever know, but they don't preach or whine about it. Their eyes gleam with Presence. Their bodies radiate forgiveness. Their hearts gleam with courage. And for every traumatic event in the world, there are 10,000 acts of kindness, of gentleness, which the media will never record.

The Divine attention is not attracted to our suffering, but to the humbled courage of a loving heart. God listens when we sing, not when we complain. Mother Mary enfolds us in her lap. And Christ pours out beams of joy, healing grace, ecstatic energy, penetrating our cloud, awakening seeds of glory hidden in our broken places.

When I open to divine radiance, God is drawn by my gratitude, until the very face of Jesus shines in the secret core of my heart. But if all I offer is my whining, my angry blame, my disappointment, I build a dam that prevents the flow of grace. Grace doesn't waste time trying to knock down my walls. The Friend goes elsewhere, following the sound of singing that rises from the wounds of love.

Image: a Vibernum whose fragrance stunned me on my walk this morning.