Article August 8, 2011 Issue

An invitation to celebrate

By Sandra M. Justad

First appeared as a web original on May 16, 2006

My desk was piled with accumulated bills and papers because my file drawers were too disorganized to use. It was an overwhelming sight. But a work colleague and I had recently sorted through the files in our office with amazing results, so I was encouraged to realize my files at home could be orderly, too.

Happily, I began to organize and weed out my papers. I was making good progress, when I came across a folder from college that reminded me of a time when I had been pretty smug and self-centered. In fact, I’d been so sure of myself that I hadn’t considered other people’s feelings. As I looked at the contents, the memory of things flippantly said and done years ago collided with my radically different approach to relationships now. The resulting discomfort was a severe mental jolt.

Like dominoes on a table top, other past failings tumbled into my thoughts. Joy drained away—until I stopped working, sat back in my chair, sighed deeply, and silently asked God, “Father, how can You ever forgive me for being such a know-it-all? For being so thoughtless and self-centered? So arrogant?”