Let us pray against the traits we bear that keep us far from God. We are human and we are flawed. So often we build a sanctuary to sin within ourselves, habits that we are reluctant to let go of for fear that it will somehow fundamentally change us, as if that in itself is a bad thing. 

Change, more often than not, is good. There is no hope to be found in stagnation of any kind. It is in our very nature to continue to evolve, to adapt, and to improve. You want the change that makes you better: a better spouse, a better child, a better friend. You want the change the sheds light on your blind spots and makes you aware of the things that you would otherwise ignore. 

No one likes the conversations that assign blame. Truthfully we are increasingly becoming people who are afraid of assuming or assigning blame at all. And as much as it can be an unpleasant – maybe even detrimental – experience on occasion, it can also be corrective and illuminating and we should not shy away from that. 

Change that brings you closer to God is good change, even when it means letting go of things that have become a crutch over the years. The point is knowing that you no longer have to idolise those patterns in your life. You no longer have to rely on them as though they are some fundamental part of being you. Who you are in God is the real you. The habits you have formed that do more harm that good are just habits. They do not define who you are. Drawing closer to God is simply becoming more you as was always intended in the eternal and the divine.