THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE

"There but for the grace of God go I."

I don't remember the first time I heard this quote as a kid, but I do recall that it tied my brains in knots for years.

It impressed me as a sentence holding profound meaning (I was right!), but I couldn't tease it out. I guess my brain could not untangle the twisted syntax. 

That inversion of sentence order, though, was the very thing that made the sentence sticky. It came to mind often. 

I don't know how old I was when the light finally came on, but when I finally "got it", I not only understood the sentiment - the truth it revealed burrowed deep into my heart. 

This is why I can't walk away after meeting a woman like this ...

... And just forget about her. Or feel no responsibility to help her. 

She is a farmer and she is standing in her field. Can you feel how difficult her life is? I don't think you or I could guess the half of it.

Do I bear no obligation to her?

What if she were my mother?

My sister?

My wife?

Or what if I were her?

There but for the grace of God go I.