Limping Along
"We all limp along with something." - Father Eric
That thought has not left me since Sunday’s homily. While others at Mass may have homed in on Father’s message of the importance of personal testimony and the role of John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit must have thought I needed to hear Father’s candidness and his humility to recognize that he and we, all limp along with something.
Father’s one-liner is a recognition of our broken humanity that we all struggle with lack of virtue, relationships, and sin in general. Sometimes we limp along with more than one thing at a time. And sometimes, by God’s grace and our open hearts, we are able to overcome a vice or a bad habit, and walk with less of a limp.
I reflected that I need to pray for humility to recognize I have a limp, and the courage and hope to be a work in progress. I was reminded not to lose hope when I fall down time and time again. Some days we limp, other days we need crutches to simply get by. But hopefully those are the times when we have the grace to recognize our weakness and turn to Jesus.
Maybe our limp is a perpetual thought that we struggle with, such as low self-worth or shame. Maybe pride takes too strong a hold of our everyday thoughts. Perhaps it is a limp of the inability to forgive, or the urge to compare ourselves with others. How is the boldness of our faith? Maybe we need to make room in our hearts for a docility to trust and obey.
As I write that list of limping-along examples, I am reminded that I limp along with several of them. Some of them more than others. I remember one day in the confessional the priest told me that I might struggle with one of my sins until I’m old and gray! The point is not to dwell on the limping, but to recognize that we can seek God’s grace, mercy, and wisdom to refine and work on those areas we fall short. On this side of heaven, it’s about progress not perfection, as a dear friend reminded me years ago.
The other part of my reflection on Father’s sentence was remembering, if we have a limp, then so does the person next to us. Our own limp can be a gentle, or firm, reminder for personal growth in holiness, as well as growth in holiness in how we treat others. What a great disposition to view others as limping alongside us. We are not so wounded that we can’t limp along together, even lean on one another, with a hope for complete healing beyond this life.
Father Eric’s single line toward the end of his homily lingered with me this week. It is a simple observation with the ability to have a profound impact on how we treat ourselves and others. We are broken, yet united in our humanity. I’m going to keep limping alongside you and others, with a goal of continued progress and healing. Please pray for me, and I’ll be praying for you.