The other day I was at a meeting. There is always a thought exercise after doing our land acknowlegement. This time it was think of 3 things. One to continue, one to let and one to invite. A lady in my group wanted to invite faith and I asked her if she meant more church attendance or something different. She does amazing work with families...I should let her know of my admiration...so I was unsure. She meant leaning more on God to get her through adversity and using her catholic upbringing for strength. It seems we travelled the same journey of doubt in the RCC version of worship but ended up in different belief places.
Or did we.
I decided as a teen that if there is a God there is nothing you can do to sway it in your favour; the addition of God to the Christian commandments and virtues was just a way to make people feel like they're being watched because leaders always look for ways to control behaviour. Risk and chance determine how your actions pan out. There's no genie to pray to and get rewards. Reducing God to a slot machine by throwing money at it's purported representatives seems disrespectful to theology.
Could God be your personal saviour? Sure but what does that mean? In spite of the Church selling dispensations in the middle ages, I don't agree claiming belief is a get out of jail free card for exploiting others. Growing up in the Catholic sphere for me meant recognizing my life is an example to help each other live our best lives. I can see the point of confession, it's an admission that you feel something lacking in your response to life and provide a focus for improvement. I can see reaching out to God because it can help you focus on a problem and possible solutions as well as give you strength to persist.
I struggle with feeling too fortunate in a world with so much sorrow and have never understood people who revel in other's misfortunes.
My let go was to recognize when there is nothing I can do.
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