the burden of judgment.

"I have had a few moments in my life during which I felt free from all judgments about others. I felt as if a heavy burden had been taken away from me. At those moments I experienced immense love for everyone I met, heard about, or read about. A deep solidarity with all people and a deep desire to love them broke down my inner walls and made my heart as wide as the universe. Can we free ourselves from the need to judge others? Yes...by claiming for ourselves the truth that we are the beloved sons and daughters of God. (The danger lies in) thinking of ourselves as the sum total of our successes, popularity, and power we become dependent on the ways we judge and are being judged and end up as victims manipulated by the world." ~Henri Nouwen

All I know and fear is the end of relationships when someone truly messes up. We so quickly turn our backs on each other after one screw up. We make it hard to know each other. We create walls, we tell lies, we withhold truth, and we foster distance to avoid real intimacy. We don't want intimacy because we will get hurt. We are constantly looking, assessing, and judging. We change our minds and shift our opinions when actions are unpleasing. We deem others unworthy of grace, salvation, forgiveness, and love because they do not do what we think is right. We equate God to our humanness and we forget the truth of His character. Is it possible to let go of judgment? Is it really a burden God intended us to bear? We create standards that have no association with the creator of our hearts and world. It seems simplistic, but prayer is our answer. Freedom from judgment cannot coexist with fear. Becoming freed from the burden of judgment doesn't happen because of a logical connection. It is not the result of thinking through something. But rather, I believe, the freedom is a result of a connection the heart made in prayer. Change of heart and mind is the result of thoughtful fervent prayer. God, let us be freed from the burden of judgment and embrace your grace and love.