God Is Not A Clockmaker And Our Default Question

My reflection for this Sunday is actually based on two wonderful homilies I heard over this weekend. This Sunday is Respect Life Sunday in the United States. I was asked to give my post abortion healing witness at all the Masses in a nearby parish. This is always a humbling privilege for me. However when you attend more than one Mass, you get to hear more than one homily.
The first one was given by a transitional deacon (he will be ordained in May). His homily used the analogy that is sometimes heard comparing God to a watch or clock maker. The clockmaker makes his timepiece and then sells it, never again to have anything to do with it. The deacon went on to say that some people see God in this way; they become like Habakkuk in the first reading, angry with God, wondering why He seems so detached from human affairs. But in that reading God goes on to tell Habakkuk that all will be done in His time. God tells us the same thing; all will be put right, but in God's time~not ours. It is the faith that the Apostles asked Jesus for in the Gospel that will enable us to see that God is very much interested in human affairs and His hand is at work even if we can not perceive it. In the meantime we need to take Paul's advice in the second reading and bear our share of the hardships for the sake of the Gospel. If we can do all of this, all the while asking Our Lord to increase our faith, we will see God not as a disinterested clock maker, but as a loving, caring, merciful Father.

The second homily I heard gave the analogy of how we sometimes operate as computers. Computers have all sorts of default settings. Father, in his homily, said that we often have our own default questions. We get up in the morning and our minds and hearts may be set to the "What's wrong?" default. What's wrong with my spouse, my kids, my parents, my co~workers and friends; even worse the question may be "What's wrong with me?" Father stressed the point that this last one can be quite damaging to our spirit~perhaps even breaking it. He invited us to change our default question to the positive: "What's right with my spouse, my kids, etc.; What's right with me?" Father reminded us that yes, we are sinful, but we are still to remember that we are created in God's image and likeness; that through his mercy and forgiveness, when we ask Him for it, we can begin to see what is right and good in others and ourselves.
Part of what always blows me over when I give my witness in a parish is the compassionate and positive response I get from those who have just heard me. Part of my healing was the grace to be able to not only ask God for His forgiveness, but also the grace to forgive myself. I can not accept God's love if I am still playing the shame and blame game. This grace also allows me to accept love, mercy and compassion from others.
I know God is not the clockmaker and I am slowly but surely changing my default settings.
How about you?