“If you are renewed by grace, and were to meet your old self, I am sure you would be very anxious to get out of his company.”
― Charles H. Spurgeon

Amen to that Pastor Spurgeon.

And one of the gifts that accompanied grace was that of metanoia. Per my assistant, Mr. Ai, metanoia is:

“…a transformative, profound change of heart, mind, or lifestyle, often described as a spiritual conversion, a reorientation of oneself, or moving beyond fear-based thinking. It is commonly understood as turning away from an old way of thinking to a new perspective.”

Repentance in a nutshell.

Long overdue for this stoic.

So blessed that this is my perpetual work in process. A surrender to intentional psychological transformation, spiritual conversion and change at its most fundamental level in mindset have literally acted to save my life.

I am still trying to get my head around that blessing.

So if I ran into my old self, I would definitely recognize him. Being that I know no strangers, I may say “Hello, how are you?”. After all, I do know what he is going through. And that he needs some understanding. Compassion. Support. Sympathy. And love.

Perhaps if I offer him a prayer, he will be gifted and renewed as I. Grace has a way of reducing anxiety. Establishing presence. Opening the door to repentance. And leading one to true change, in the manner of metanoia.

I know it was given to me.

The least I can do is hope the same is given to him.

So he may live too.