Learning to let God be God

"God is not God the way we would be God if we were God," said Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville, Illinois, at yesterday's Mass for U.S. bishops in Baltimore.

In a wide-ranging homily that covered many topics relevant to the day and our culture, especially in light of the divisiveness evident during the run-up to the recent presidential elections, these particular words stuck in my head. I kept hearing them over and over.

The reminder that we can't know God's ways but instead need to trust was one that hit home for me, maybe because I was only a few hours away from my part as a social media panelist in a meet-up between bishops and bloggers. Trust was a little elusive at that moment.

The bishop's words are good to remember not only when we're facing down our fears but during the everyday moments of our lives. We have to keep always at the fore what Julian of Norwich said, "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." And we have to let God be God.