The author Marilynne Robinson interviewed on the radio show "On Point" hosted by Tom Ashbrook.
Ms. Robinson shares her faith and her understanding of Christianity. I wish she would have explained how she holds on to hope. Without that explanation, her experience sounds more like an exercise of human will than the exercise of a spiritual practice.
I haven't found it possible to will myself into a more loving frame of mind or a more forgiving nature. I have found success when I've admitted my inability of change and confessed my need for Christ's help. After that self-realization and confession, if I surrender to Christ's will, that's when my attitude improves.
In that moment, I stop focusing on what's annoying me (or frightening, angering, or depressing me) and instead start thinking about Christ. That reminder of who Christ is and what Christ's mission is about, and most of all the connection to the Spirit of Christ that occurs when I surrender and seek help, that's what saves me from myself.
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