Do you see yourself as a trusting person? Perhaps too much so? The disadvantages of being too trusting are readily obvious. You can be cheated and taken advantage of. What about the disadvantages of not being trusting enough? These are less obvious, but more severe. They consist of missed or rejected opportunities. You may not be aware of these when they happen, but the cumulative effect is a diminished rather than an abundant life. Fear gives birth to death.

How often do you think about me? I think about you all the time. I do not say this to make you feel guilty or condemn you. My capacities are infinite and yours are not. I know that you have responsibilities in this world and limited abilities for focus and attention. In any relationship one party will be more invested than the other. In our case it will always be me. Let this be a cause of joy rather than despair for you. When you are busy or distracted or tired I am not. Even when you are sleeping I continue to watch over you with tender care.

Are you becoming like your parents? You may not notice this when you are young, but as you age you may notice yourself taking on their mannerisms and habits. I tell you to honor your father and mother and imitation is one sincere form of this. You may admire your parents and do this intentionally, or you may not and seek to avoid it, but it will happen either way. You are deeply influenced by them whether you realize it or not, or appreciate it or not. What about your Father in heaven? Are you intentionally taking on his mannerisms and character? You are made in his image.

Do you have control issues? Is this something that is easier to see in other people than it is in yourself? How great is your sense that you are not capable of directing your own life, that you need assistance from outside yourself, that you are being led? The short answer to these questions is that if you are in control of your life I am not. Do you think of progress in terms of seizing and advancing in a structured planned process that you direct? Are you willing to view progress in terms of letting go and surrendering?