I find myself doing a lot of confessing lately. I am being led to own up to my failures, get them out into the open, where they can be met head on. I have to say, this is a somewhat scary, yet completely joyful thing. I am examining my soul.
I'm a naturally happy person to begin with. This confession thing is causing something that borders on giddiness. I have never felt as alive or as connected to God as I do these days. Each confession, each admission I make brings a new ray of light into my soul.
Continuous cleansing, that's what it is. I am freeing myself from myself. I am releasing things, placing them into the very capable hands of God.
I highly recommend this. Stop hiding from yourself and the world.Examine your motives, your missions, your successes, and your failures often. What is working? What isn't? If you're like me, you'll find many things that need attention, things that need either tweaking or ridding.
The act of admitting openly, even if only to God, that you have failed, or you were wrong, is very freeing. We are living in a world where everyone wants to be right. Saying 'I'm sorry' has fallen by the wayside.
In the cartoon "The Family Circus", there is a little character called 'not me'. The mom will ask,
"Who broke this? Who did this?" and every one of her children will answer "Not me" while this little person shadows them. It's really cute in the cartoon; not so cute in reality. It's cowardice.
Fly in the face of your world. Admit when you are wrong. Say, "I am sorry". Confess openly your shortcomings. People will be shocked. Some will think,'Man, I can't believe they admitted that, I wouldn't'. Now, you've gotten their attention. In the secret corners of their minds they are thinking that if you can admit to that, maybe they can admit to this. On the other hand, they may just be thinking you are crazy. So what?
Either way, you've made them THINK. This could lead to a discussion of why you aren't afraid to bare your soul, so to speak.
This is where you will tell them. Once again,Our Lord in heaven is glorified. We shouldn't fear anything. Our bodies can be hurt, but our souls cannot. They belong to God.
Confession is a win-win-win situation. You win.
They win. God wins. Ain't it grand!?
A word of caution: If your confession involves other people, and you are confessing to anyone other than God, respect the other parties privacy in the matter. Own your part--not theirs. Never let the words you speak damage another. God already knows the situation-you do not need to name names with anyone other than Him.
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