Dear Father, The very moment my ex and I broke up some years ago, I thought to myself, “He’d never find someone as good as me.” Sometimes, this manner of thinking is associated with trying to regain emotional balance or soothe hurt through thoughts of another person’s downfall. And as temporarily soothing as it may be, it is flawed. I remembered the scripture where Herod promised, on oath, to give his daughter whatever she would ask. Then she, having first been instructed by her mother, said, “Give me here John the Baptist’s head in a charger.” She requested the death of a man as a gift? How shocking, Father. Yet, when placed side by side with our own desires, it is not so shocking after all. If, for instance, every wish we had against a person who once hurt us were granted, what would we wish for? While not overlooking the depth of pain whose debt, by law, may justify death, I am keenly interested in the state of our hearts when things do not go as planned, and of the danger in finding comfort in evil thoughts, considering the effects such thoughts can have. I think of how often we believe a company may come crashing down, or a person may lose direction, in our absence. Father, give us grace to accept our dispensability in moments when we are hurt. Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LettertoGod #desires #thoughts #dispensability #hurt