Betsy Guerra's daughter Fofi died, and the kindness she received changed how she thinks about goodness. A deacon taught her that sin includes omission, not just action, meaning failing to help when you feel called to is a real wrong. She argues goodness requires acting on compassion, not just avoiding harm.
Chapters
Today we're going to talk about how being good is not the same as not being bad. I used to think that I was a really good person. I thought I was kind. I helped everybody who came my way. I didn't hurt anybody. I was a good person. And then Fofi died, my daughter. And a lot of people did so many things for me that I wouldn't have done for them. And I remember thinking, I thought I was a really good person, but I don't think I was that good. I wasn't as good as those other people who went out of their way to do for me. And in doing so, I experienced so much healing and love and even God's embrace from their interactions. And that experience enabled me to reflect on, am I the best person I can be? Then I went to a talk, and this deacon was talking about different kinds of sins. And he said, you know, in the Catholic Church, we have a prayer where we say, I have sinned greatly in what I have thought, in what I have said, in what I have done and what I had failed to do. And the deacon was explaining that they're in order, right? Like the sin of thinking something about someone that's not very nice is bad, but, you know, it's a thought. It's not that bad. But then if you say something, then it's like, whoa, you could have avoided that. And then on top of saying something, if you do something to the person you really dislike, then that's a greater sin than the previous one. And then he said, but the worst of all sins is that of omission in what I had failed to do. When God puts in your heart something that he wants you to do, like those people who travel to come see me for my daughter's life celebration, when. When God put it in their hearts, they obeyed and they. They acted upon it, and. And they followed what they had in her heart, their heart. If they would have omitted that, if they would have failed to do that, I wouldn't have experienced the healing that came from their presence. So I learned with those two experiences that I can always be better. And now every single time God puts something in my heart, I'm like, come on, God. I fight with him first when I really don't want to do it, but then I obey. Because you never know how you can transform and save someone's life by doing that thing that you have in your heart. So today I wanted to invite you to reflect on in which ways does your goodness shine through you. And I wanted to invite you also to be a little more excited about being good, not just settling for I'm a good person. You get to explore that a little deeper. And I have to say that if by any chance God has been calling you to serve and elevate humanity by coaching them, by supporting people, by helping them reach their goals and their greatness, if you're called to be a life coach I want you to reflect on do I continue to ignore that because who am I and I don't think I'm enough to do something like that or do you get to obey and say yes God I'm going to show up because there are people assigned to you and there are people waiting for you to show up for them and God is waiting for you to say yes so that he can use you as his vessel to transform other people's lives. If you have felt curious about this possibility please join me and learn more about the coaching academy@bwbcoaching.com SA.
