We are All Works in Progress

Yesterday, a man and I were heading back to our floors after lunch, he pushed the seventh floor I the tenth.  A few seconds later, the elevator stopped and the doors opened on the second floor.  A girl was about to step in when she realized that we were going up and she had accidently pressed the up button instead of the arrow going down. Realizing her mistake she apologized and retreated back to waiting for the proper ride.  The man next to me grumbled, “She must not be very smart if she can’t even tell the difference between an arrow going up and one going down.”  We reached the seventh floor and still grumbling he stepped off the elevator, while I rode up thinking about how easily we critize others.  We are critical people not only with others, but also with ourselves.  Recently, I was feeling quite insecure, even felt like the green monster was in residence in one of the rooms of my being and I judged myself harshly for holding these jealous emotions.  Christians are not supposed to have these type of feelings I kept telling myself and the more I wanted to put myself on check the worst I felt. 

I did the only thing that always works, I went to chapel and I spent an hour in front of Jesus praying.  When I arrived I told Him how I was feeling and then I prayed the rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and my Saint Anthony of Padua novena.  The first rosary mystery said “do not be afraid” and the second “peace be with you” as I listened to these “consejos” from God, my soul began to settle.  When it was at peace God told me something that really inspired me, “we are all works in progress.”  We can all be so critical, it’s quite easy to see the flaws in others and in ourselves; but, we must be like God who sees our weaknesses and only sees a canvas for holiness.  He’s like a father who sees his own child falling in attempts to learn to ride a bike and instead of growing impatient with the failures of the child, he comes to help guide, cheer the small victories and share in the joy when the child finally rides that bicycle. 

In the Book of Philippians God says, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion…”  In other words “God is not done with me yet.”  He’s still molding us!  So, instead of growing impatient with our flaws or those of others we need to remember that we are all works in progress.  In the book of Romans, He says that we are still being molded and shaped to Jesus’ likeness.  Thus, if we are all in the process of being chiseled why do we judge others and especially ourselves for not being perfect?  I’m in the process of becoming a saint, but boy do I have a long way to go as am sure most of us in this world do too.  When we take the time to run into the arms of Jesus - when we are overwhelmed by our own imperfections- we come to the conclusion that like our Father we must see with eyes of patience and hope, always seeing the best in one another.  And looking at our mistakes not as flaws, but indications that God is not done with us yet (smile).