"Beware of despairing about yourself: you are commanded to put your trust in God, and not in yourself." St. Augustine

Who is our true center? Others, ourselves or God? How do we know? Jesus said: "Where your treasure is there is your heart." If our center is other than God, then we open ourselves to ultimate frustration and despair. Why? We were made in the image and likeness of God for God. We were not made by and for others nor by and for ourselves. To complete our purpose in life, namely to be with God forever in glory, we need to trust God's plan for us, even when we don't understand or see. His plan is to purify us from everything that keeps us away from him, namely sin. We are called to be "holy, blameless in his sight and full of love." Thus, the purification and stripping. If our heart is in God, then we will walk the path he designs for us in love.