There are times when every aspect of our life is wrong,
when we are tired of fighting, tired of living, tired of
trying and we just want to leave and go home. I spent much of
this weekend talking a friend out of a suicide attempt that
she felt was her only option in dealing with the mess her life
had become. She wondered why, after she had worked so
hard to live her life in a spiritual way and follow all of the
'rules', God was allowing these things to happen to her and
was not answering her prayers. She was mad at God and believed
that He had abandoned her.
It was hard to ask her to accept the fact that God never abandons us and that her anger at God was one way of relinquishing her authority and removing herself from the responsibility that she had over her reality. There were many other issues at work, including her inability to control the actions of people in her life who were part of the problems that she was experiencing. Although I tried to remind her that everyone has free will and she had no control over anyone's actions, she felt that if God truly loved her He would step in and change the situation. And so she was mad at God and one way of ending her pain would be to end her life.
Accepting responsibility for our life is something that we can easily accept until we run into situations where our life goes out of control. What happened? We are walking the spiritual path, living according to spiritual principles, shouldn't our life flow effortlessly and be problem free? That is what we would like to think but as we know, that doesn't always happen. Situations can be complicated people we love and count on make choices that conflict with what we want and if we have expectations in any area they will be revealed to us. Are we going to be mad at God and hold onto our expectations or surrender everything and acknowledge our power-including our power to let go of something when it is the last thing we want to do?
Like children who don't get their way, we get mad at God when something we desperately want does not happen. In my friend's case, she needed to release herself from the belief that she would be rescued by someone who had chosen to not rescue her. Her emotional pain is from the realization that this person won't step into their power. And it is easier to be mad at God for not stepping in and forcing a change than to be mad at someone she loves for not meeting her expectations or needs. God never abandons us, nor does He see us as powerless, even when that is how we see ourselves. And He will not step in and force change, but He will give us the comfort, support and help we need to accept what we cannot change and honor our spiritual journey and that of everyone else.
It was hard to ask her to accept the fact that God never abandons us and that her anger at God was one way of relinquishing her authority and removing herself from the responsibility that she had over her reality. There were many other issues at work, including her inability to control the actions of people in her life who were part of the problems that she was experiencing. Although I tried to remind her that everyone has free will and she had no control over anyone's actions, she felt that if God truly loved her He would step in and change the situation. And so she was mad at God and one way of ending her pain would be to end her life.
Accepting responsibility for our life is something that we can easily accept until we run into situations where our life goes out of control. What happened? We are walking the spiritual path, living according to spiritual principles, shouldn't our life flow effortlessly and be problem free? That is what we would like to think but as we know, that doesn't always happen. Situations can be complicated people we love and count on make choices that conflict with what we want and if we have expectations in any area they will be revealed to us. Are we going to be mad at God and hold onto our expectations or surrender everything and acknowledge our power-including our power to let go of something when it is the last thing we want to do?
Like children who don't get their way, we get mad at God when something we desperately want does not happen. In my friend's case, she needed to release herself from the belief that she would be rescued by someone who had chosen to not rescue her. Her emotional pain is from the realization that this person won't step into their power. And it is easier to be mad at God for not stepping in and forcing a change than to be mad at someone she loves for not meeting her expectations or needs. God never abandons us, nor does He see us as powerless, even when that is how we see ourselves. And He will not step in and force change, but He will give us the comfort, support and help we need to accept what we cannot change and honor our spiritual journey and that of everyone else.
Copyright (C) 2004 - 2008 by Jennifer Hoffman. All rights reserved. All material on this page is protected by US and international copyright law and may not be quoted or reproduced without the express written permission of the author. All authorized reproductions, quotes or copies, in whole or in part, must reference the author's name and the Uriel Heals website, www.urielheals.com.
