Peeling the Onion

I've had this image in my head lately of an onion as an analogy of how God helps us move forward in our lives.  We have layers and when we're ready, God peels off a layer.  It exposes the softer, maybe smellier(?), layer underneath and brings new tears.  Kinda hokey, I know.  For me, it's helping me see how God has moved me deeper. Also, it's helping me as I watch friends in trial. 

I have a couple of dear friends who are really "in the fire" right now.  The bedrock of their lives is shifting.  I have been through some significant challenges in the last couple of years, but currently, things are pretty even. That's not to say there are no ups and downs, but at the moment, there are no major catastrophes in my life that make me wake up and walk around each day with my heart in the pit of my stomach.  I've just come through something like that, but, for now, I'm past it.

So from my current perch, I find it too easy to look at my girlfriends' situations and feel like I know exactly what I would do in their situation.  And to make judgments in my head and give my friends unsolicited advice about what *I think* they should do.  But when I look back at my own trajectory, I realize that one could say, "you should have done x,y and z" sooner."  "You should have had those boundaries a long time ago."  Maybe, but I wasn't ready.

I'm learning to let God peel the onion.  My girlfriends are faith-filled, prayerful women. I KNOW that they are trusting and praying their way through the fires they find themselves in.  So while there MAY be wisdom I can impart to them (ie, if God wants to use me to help take off the next layer), I'll leave that up the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, I will trust God to peel off the next layer in their lives and mine, when He decides we are ready.