Catastrophes

What happens when you lose your job? What is your first response? We all have varying responses to such a major change in our lives, including seeing loss of our jobs as a catastrophe. Yesterday's meditation from Forward Day by Day echoed my own experiences of  how I respond when "things fall apart the center cannot hold." *
                                                
"Catastrophes, moments when everything seems to fall apart, when we seem to  have failed miserably, can be transformative, even redeeming. The difference between  whether they are debilitating or rehabilitating is in our response to the grace of God. Jesus turned and looked at Peter. Peter withered with grief. But that was not the end of his response, just the beginning."




*William Butler Yeats, "The Second Coming" (!921)
The title of the meditation, "The Lord turned and looked at Peter," is based on Luke 22:52-62, the story of Peter's betrayal of Jesus.
I thank Jane Paraskevopoulos, Director of Business Operations, Forward Movement Publications, for permission to quote from this meditation, published June 27, 2011.