Thoughts on the Business of Being a Hero(ine)

"Grace makes beauty out of ugly things." - U2
There has been many a time when I have tried my dangdest to be a hero, to rescue some poor guy who doesn't know how beautiful he is from the damage he could do to himself if left to his own devices. Something - I don't quite know what - reminded me today that we are simply incapable of saving people from themselves. We can talk to them till we are blue in the face, love them more than we ourselves ever even began to imagine we could, and try so hard that the end of every encounter with them leaves us feeling like we've aged about fifty more years.
The real work, though, is not ours to do. We are simply incapable of doing the kind of work on a person's heart and soul that the Holy Spirit can. Difficult as it is to live, it's the truth.
I suppose I decided to share this because I too easily slip back into the kind of thinking that I know is only going to leave me feeling less adequate than before. Guess that's all I got for now.
Peace...