How often do we put our “judgy” voice on when talking or thinking about others’ actions?
How often do we put our “judgy” voice on when talking or thinking about our own?
In thinking about how I often talk to myself in particular, I jotted down this poem (well really prayer) to recenter from a voice of criticism to a voice steeped in love.
A CASE OF THE “I TOLD YOU SO”s
“You did this
to yourself,”
is one common,
angry phrase
I say to myself
(and to others,
I must admit,
when I feel
… judgy).
“You should
have done
it THIS way,”
is another.
“Why don’t
you just listen?
(said that gem
to my kid
just yesterday,
in fact)
Oh God,
how I can get
so totally,
so completely
lost
in the rolling sea
of “if onlys”!
Oh God,
how I can
get so close,
so very close
to drowning
in the choppy sea
of “I told you sos!”
Oh God,
how judgy,
so very judgy
I can be
of myself
(…and of others
if this prayer
is honest.)
It so easy,
so very easy
when things go
wrong
to make them…
worse,
so VERY much
worse
by piling on
ALL the
judgments.
But God,
to be honest,
I’ve never heard,
actually heard
one judgment
from YOUR lips
to my ears.
If I really,
really think
I’ve never heard
a single
“if only”
or
“I told you so”.
Instead,
I’ve only felt…
love.
So teach me,
Lord,
to be less…
judgy.
Teach me,
Lord,
to be more…
like You.
Show me,
Lord,
how much
like You
I already am,
if only I
let myself
be.
@2022, Gretchen Crowder
