Mar 08, 2024 |
WLSU, Repentance at the Gym
| The Rev. Philip DeVaul
WLSU, Repentance at the Gym
Today at the gym I overheard a conversation. I did not mean to. I was not eavesdropping. Well not at first anyway. In my defense the person working out next to me was talking at normal volume on their phone. She was not using, as it’s called in elementary school, her inside voice. And because I had misplaced my headphones, I could only mind my own business for so long. Even without knowing the context of the conversation, I heard pain. Then I heard her say these words to the person on the other end of the line:
“Are you willing just to acknowledge your part in what went wrong, to be accountable and then move on?”
I was taken aback by the direct and simple nature of the question. We don’t often hear people speak this plainly. I actually stopped listening at that point, both because I was trying to lift a very heavy thing, and also because this stranger’s question sent me deep within myself. It was as if she had asked me the question just as directly and simply. Phil, are you willing just to acknowledge your part in what went wrong, to be accountable and then move on?
I delicately put the heavy thing on the ground, and then silently prayed for this person on her phone. I’m very religious, after all. I prayed with thanksgiving for her courage - because saying that to anyone takes courage. Then I prayed for, I guess you’d call it a happy ending, a resolution or reconciliation or whatever those two needed. I put the weights back on the rack, walked off and finished my workout. But that question stuck with me.
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