One day I woke up and realized no amount of love, care, pain, hurt, anger, or retribution could ever transform those who are evil into good or kind people. That day I let go; I stopped caring for them, gave up any hope for their souls, and knew they were never worthy of me or my time.

Dr. Richard Selzer is a surgeon and a favorite author of mine. He writes the most beautiful and compassionate descriptions of his patients and the human dramas they confront. In his book Letters to a Young Doctor, he said that most young people seem to be protected for a time by an imaginary membrane that shields them from horror. They walk in it every day but are hardly aware of its presence. As the immune system protects the human body from the unseen threat of harmful bacteria, so this mythical membrane guards them from life-threatening situations. Not every young person has this protection, of course, because children do die of cancer, congenital heart problems, and other disorders. But most of them are shielded—and don’t realize it. Then, as years roll by, one day it happens. Without warning, the membrane tears, and horror seeps into a person’s life or into the life of a loved one. It is at this moment that an unexpected theological crisis presents itself.

One day I shall sit down and ponder!I shall ponder over how I used to wanderBut I shall never wander anymoreA day is coming! Oh yes a day is coming! A day is coming when I shall see redemptionNo more wandering! Oh yes! No more wandering! A day is surely comingOne day I shall sit down and remember!I shall remember how arduous the journey wasBut I shall never see an arduous journey anymoreA day is coming! Oh yes a day is coming! A day is coming when there shall never be a journey to takeNo more journeys! Oh yes! No more journeys! A day is surely comingOne day I shall sit down and count the footprints!I shall count the footprints of the tyrants and the oppressorsBut I shall never see tyranny and oppression anymoreA day is coming! Oh yes a day is coming! A day is coming when I shall see redemptionNor more tyranny! Oh yes! No more oppression! A day is surely comingOne day I shall sit down and think about the rejections.I shall remember the rejections from people far and nearBut I shall never experience their rejections anymoreA day is coming! Oh yes a day is coming! A day is coming when I shall never see rejectionNo more rejections! Oh yes! No more rejections! A day is surely comingOne day I shall come to an understanding!I shall come to understand the things that were far from my understandingAnd they shall never be far from my understanding anymore A day is coming! Oh yes a day is coming! A day is coming when I shall have an understandingAn understanding! Oh yes! An understanding! A day is surely coming