Video Meliora, proboque; Deteriora sequor

Kathy Shaidle Quote

We offer ourselves to God, good and bad. We leave it up to God to decide which of our defects of character need to be removed. And God is the one who will remove them, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly.

Given our limited human perspective, it is usually unwise to embark on a self-propelled project to "make ourselves over." Traits that we think of as flaws may be necessary for us to keep, as part of God's overall plan for our lives, and the lives of others. (What if Oskar Schindler had decided to give up his slick, conniving, worldly ways, and become a cloistered monk..?)

The key word is "humbly." As Bill Wilson liked to say, "Humility has a hard time of it in our world." Many people confuse it with humiliation or obsequiousness....But humility is about being realistic. Humility is not about thinking very little of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less...Notice that the worst defects are those that interfere with our usefulness to God and our neighbors.

- from "A Seeker's Dozen: The 12 Steps for Everyone Else"