Let the Children Come to Me

Well, my challenging year seems to be continuing. Since my last blog post, I have lost a very good friend of mine that I've known since childhood and have had pneumonia and a few secondary infections and things that have sidelined me. Through it all, though, I did have some wonderful moments where I saw and talked to good friends, old friends and family members and that is always a great thing, don't you think? Some days I do feel adrift, from the loss and recoveries, but to be honest I do have a very solid prayer life and that always keeps me centered when I take the time each day to say them. I also belong to an on-line novena group that delivers them right to my email address. If you are interested in receiving them as well, visit www.PrayMoreNovenas.com and sign up for them. Another great thing I do for myself is I have the readings of the day delivered right to my email address. You can get them as well by visiting http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings. 

 

Now you too have a few wonderful sources to help you meditate on the readings of the day and enrich your own prayer life. 

 

Over the course of this year I have a had a few people comment on my faith. Some acknowledge how strong it is and others say they wish theirs was as strong. Do you want me to let you in on my secret? I'm nobody special. The only water I can walk on is the same kind that everyone else can walk on, it's called ice. My secret can be summed up into a few short, but powerful, words:

 

Let Go, and Let God.

 

Trust in Him and let Him work in your life. Let's face it, left to our own devices we can and do make some really stupid mistakes. I know I have. To me, the Serenity Prayer hits the sentiment right on the nose when it says, ""God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;  courage to change the things I can;  and wisdom to know the difference."

Certain things in life you can't change and those are the things that you leave up to God. I was just thinking of when I was lying in the hospital for the umpteenth time this past March, with an I.V. attached to my arm and the antibiotic starting to course through my vein, thinking of my own mortality. I was receiving the best medical care, but, that doesn't always conclude with a restoration of health. People die all the time when they seem to be responding to treatments and doing well. When illness strikes  that is the perfect time to surrender yourself totally and completely to Him. If you are meant to be healed, then you will be healed. If not, offer your suffering up to Him for all of the stupid mistakes aka sins, that you have done in the past. It is purifying. That's where the wisdom part comes in. Seek medical attention if you feel something is wrong physically or mentally. God does work through healers but also trust in Him that what is going to happen to you is meant to be. God doesn't make mistakes. People suffer and die. It is part of the human experience but that doesn't mean that we do it alone. God is always with us, even when we don't feel that He is.

I loved the Gospel reading from May 26th. It was Mark 10:13-16: 

 

"People were bringing children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it. Then he embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them."

 

 

 

Well, what do children do? Children have open hearts and minds and rely solely on their parents or caregivers to provide everything that they need. Since it is physically impossible to go from child to adult to child again (unless you are Benjamin Button), we must do it mentally and spiritually. We must rely on God our Father to guide us in our decisions with the same childlike faith that we had in our parents as ankle-biters. I'm not going to lie, as an adult it is very difficult to do. When you are facing job loss or dwindling finances or lack of food it IS hard to not feel despair, but if you believe in the Lord with all of your heart and mind and proclaim that the Lord will provide, He will provide.  The Lord hears all prayer. The Lord answers all prayer. Just know that your answer and His answer may not be the same. Of course Jesus just loves children too but the scripture meaning is so much deeper than that.

 

Allow yourself to Let Go and Let God into your life. Enrich your relationship with Him, through His word and your prayer life. Trust in Him with a child-like faith and unconditional love. Again, I'm not saying I'm perfect. I'm very much a work in progress, but I have found that letting go and letting God has increased my faith and conviction in Him tenfold and if I could change my life, then anyone can.

Peace, joy and love to you all.

Mare

Jeremiah 1:5

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."

I was reading the Bible yesterday and the power of this one line had such an impact on me that I am still pondering it today. Of course, this is part of the story of Jeremiah, who was a prophet in his time, but think of how that one line resonates with you, and everyone else, today and through the ages. If you think of the magnitude of this statement it is quite overwhelming and, frankly, sad, when you think of life from God's perspective. 

I think of an artist that has created a piece. Sure, it is an inanimate object, but that artist thought about it, sketched it out, designed it with specific colors, textures and objects. He or she made it a specific size and then shared it with everyone so that they too could be moved by it as well. That one piece has a part of the artist retained in it and, as an artist myself, I know that the piece is cherished even if it isn't kept. Usually with artists, no two original pieces are alike. That is the beauty of being an artist; you create pieces that are as unique as the sand granules on a beach or a snowflake.

God has done the same with us. Before He formed us, He thought of how we would look; who we would be; what we would accomplish and what gifts He was going to give us in order to do that work. He designed our senses, our thought process and our perceptions. He knew our hopes and our dreams. He knew what would make us laugh and He knew what would make us cry. He knew what part of the world He was going to put us into, so that we could learn the life lessons that we needed to learn in order for our souls to be enriched or for us to enrich someone else. He had a plan for each one of us. Before we were a twinkle in our parents' eyes, we were a twinkle in God's eyes. God knew us before we were conceived as a life in a womb, and He had great aspirations for us.  

How incredibly heartbreaking it must be for Him to watch us terminate that life with a pill or a procedure. What a very sad society we have become....

Earliest embryo stages in a human life

Judge, Lest You be Judged

Reading 1 Rom 2:1-11

You, O man, are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment.
For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself,
since you, the judge, do the very same things.
We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true.
Do you suppose, then, you who judge those who engage in such things
and yet do them yourself,
that you will escape the judgment of God?
Or do you hold his priceless kindness, forbearance, and patience
in low esteem, unaware that the kindness of God
would lead you to repentance?
By your stubbornness and impenitent heart,
you are storing up wrath for yourself
for the day of wrath and revelation
of the just judgment of God,
who will repay everyone according to his works,
eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality
through perseverance in good works,
but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth
and obey wickedness.
Yes, affliction and distress will come upon everyone
who does evil, Jew first and then Greek.
But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone
who does good, Jew first and then Greek.
There is no partiality with God.

This is such a beautiful passage and there are quite a few life lessons in there for all of us to follow and learn from. 

Recent events have brought this front and center for me with one being the visit of Pope Francis and the other being the jailing of the clerk in Kentucky. Both events seem to have drawn lines of distinction among the people, or at least some of them. While millions of people were greeting the Pope and welcoming him to the U.S. with open arms and love, others were greeting him with signs such as, "there is no hope in the Pope." Is it a catchy phrase? Sure it is. Is it their right to wave that banner? Of course it is; as an American they are allowed to voice their opinions. If you delve deeper into it, though, you find out that these people believe that every person that follows the Pope, or the Catholic religion, are going to hell. They have condemned every last one of them. Are they not in trouble for condemning all of those people? Of course they are; read the first three lines of this reading again:

"You, O man, are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment.
For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself,
since you, the judge, do the very same things."

You could say that they are condemning themselves by condemning others. It does say that in the second line. You could say that I'm judging them based on their actions, but no, it is not a judgment. Their beliefs and teachings are fact and not my opinion. On a lighter note, that same blog that mentioned their banners also mentioned how tight security was for Pope Francis. They also noted how security watched them like hawks. Why wouldn't security be tight? They wanted to keep the Pontiff safe from over-enthusiastic people and from the haters and extremists. BTW security thanks you for the signs; it made their jobs so much easier to spot you. Yes, my friends, you were considered a threat to security. That isn't just my opinion either. It is common sense.

The other event, Kim Davis being jailed because of her beliefs, was another head scratcher moment for me. Okay, she is an elected official and, as such, she is supposed to do a job. She is totally and completely allowed to live her life according to her beliefs, as is every other American. If she does not believe in gay marriage, as an Apostolic Christian, she should have stepped aside and let a member of her staff do their job and issue the license. As the County Clerk she is supposed to carry out her duties as such; she was not elected to be the Chief of the Moral Police. But that is purely my opinion based on the politics of the situation. My head scratcher moment came with the onslaught of media coverage, particularly that in social media circles. I saw many posts, some from my own friends, that condemned her for her multiple marriages. Who is she to judge gay people when she has been married 3 times (or however many times it was). The same folks that found her actions to be offensive did not see how they were just as offensive by mocking her. (BTW-nobody elected me to be Chief of the Moral Police either). It did, however, remind me of the Bible passage about how we see the splinter in our brother's eye but neglect to see the wood beam in our own. 

Why don't we all focus on the last lines of this passage - "But there will be glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good....". Worry about your own relationship with Christ the King and stop judging everyone else by their actions and beliefs. Persevere in your own good works for all of our brothers and sisters in the human race, love one another as there is no partiality with God therefore there should not be partiality for each other either.

Peace

Mare

My Dream of Heaven

OK, I just have to recommend this book to you all. It was originally published as "Intra Muros", by Rebecca Ruter Springer in 1898 and based on either a dream or a vision that this woman had when she was critically ill. Forget Betty Eadie, this is the most awe-inspiring, profound, life-altering books (aside from the Bible) I have ever read in my life, and trust me I've read many of these type books. I'm up to page 90, it's a quick read, and I've had tears streaming down my face for the last half hour. It is beautifully written and if you are looking for some inspiration in your daily life I highly recommend this book.

It's a gorgeous day on my little island today; I hope the sun is shining in your neck of the woods today as well.

Peace,

Mare