Your Choice for Eternity

Christmastide is the perfect time to reflect on where we are in our relationship with Jesus.  The celebration of Advent, the preparations for Christmas Day, are all in the past.  The gifts, parties, baking, and  “glitz” of the season…that could be overwhelming for some…have been replaced with a quietness of spirit.  At least, there is a “quest” for quietness…maybe not fully attained yet!

Jesus is Love and Pure Joy! He loves us in a way that is incomprehensible to us.  He knows us perfectly…knows the struggles within us, and the reasons for those struggles…even when we don’t have a clue of what lies inside of our hearts.

This morning, I was looking through old family and friends photos, and I was reminded of so many blessings throughout the years.  Especially through the “in the trenches” days of early marriage and raising our sons.  During that time, it was clearly a “day to day” learning process, although I didn’t realize that at the time, I just trudged through each day’s events.   I didn’t realize that Jesus was right there with me, as I struggled through the haze of the personal inner struggles that I was beginning to work through.  All I knew at the time, was that I loved my husband and sons more than I could even understand.  I wanted what was best for them in this life.

I did not understand that my role as a wife and mother wasn’t necessarily to work toward their happiness in THIS LIFE…my role was to help them and guide them toward their eternal happiness.

Maybe that’s where we become confused when our life doesn’t go as planned…and sometimes our prayers are not answered in the way we expect them to be.  Only God knows what we truly need to prepare our souls for Eternal Life…with Him.  He showers us with blessings each and everyday.  Sometimes those blessings come disguised as difficulties, struggles and suffering.  We are constantly being given opportunities to turn our gaze away from the material world, and instead, look to Him.

Trust Him, who created you lovingly, and knows you inside and out.  Trust Him, and the Church He has gifted us with…and do all you can to know, love and serve Him in this fleeting world, so that you will be will be with Him…in the presence of Perfect Love and Joy…for all Eternity.

Think carefully about your choices in this life, because they will affect your most important relationship…which is with your Creator and your Savior.

So, during this time of peacefulness and meditation, remember this one thing:

The only thing you take to eternity is your relationship with God.  Everything in your life should tend to that relationship.  

 

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True Pleasure

Do you like to read?  I love reading…especially inspirational or spiritual books.  Right now, I am in the process of reading “Saintly Solutions” by Fr. Joseph Esper.  This book is very enlightening, because it offers solutions to life’s common problems – from anger, boredom, and temptation to gluttony, gossip and greed.  The most interesting facet for me is that for each of life’s common problems, this book reveals a saint who experienced the same weakness or struggle. There are also suggestions for things you might try to overcome each issue.

Today, as I was reading, one line especially caught my eye.

“Those who love God will find pleasure in everything; those who do not love God will never find true pleasure in anything.”  St. Alphonsus Liguori

As I journey on my spiritual path, I have found this to be true.

In the past, I found myself comparing myself to others, or focusing on my struggles and what I didn’t have.  I rarely found pleasure in my day to day life.  During those years, I actually felt like I had a black veil over my spirit, and I could not break free… always feeling like “why me.”

Now that I am getting to know Jesus in a personal way, and have opened my heart to the Holy Spirit’s light, it is so easy to find pleasure all around me.  My spirit has been set free!  Simple things are beautiful to me, and touch my heart.  Little things like waking up one more morning with my husband next to me, enjoying a beautiful sunrise or sunset, watching birds or squirrels in my backyard, listening to beautiful music, visiting with family or friends, praying and feeling the presence of God…these are some of the joys that fill my life.

When things are difficult, I ask God to open my eyes to what I should be learning from the circumstance.

No, my life is not perfect, and I have a lot of growing to do.  However, I can honestly say I feel more love, pleasure and joy in my life than I ever did before.  It is a feeling of inner contentment, and trust that God loves me and will always be there for me.  He will carry me through.

My prayer is that the Lord fills our hearts to overflow with his love and moves us to share that love and joy with those he places in our lives every day.

Because that person he is entrusting to you is hurting and in need of Jesus’ saving grace. 

You were uniquely chosen for specific moments to touch specific people.  What could bring more pleasure than serving our Lord and sharing him with a world in need…one heart at a time?

 

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,  so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  Romans 12:4-5

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

 

 

 

A Grateful Heart

Sometimes ideas just pop in my head.  You can ask my husband, my gears are always turning, and he usually hears most of those thoughts.  Probably not the best thing for him…he does his best, but I have to admit, sometimes I see his eyes glaze over and I know it’s time to “zip it”.  Enough said.

This morning, I was taking a short walk before starting work, and I tried to just clear my mind and listen to the birds and crickets.  I feel closest to God when I am outside, surrounded by His beautiful creations.  Even if there is one little patch of grass, a few flowers, or one bird singing, it is awesome to me.

I felt really peaceful, and then the thoughts flowed.

In the past, I often wondered why it is so important for us to worship God, pray to Him, ask forgiveness, and thank Him for our lives and all the blessings.  I reasoned, if He is our Sovereign God, and is Perfect Love, why does He need us to worship Him or pray?  Is it because He needs His ego stroked?  Or maybe because He wants us to constantly bow down to Him to keep us “in our place”?  I never really understood that.

Here is what was revealed to me.  As all of you have done, on many occasions I have given a gift of time, money or a particular present I chose for someone.  I don’t “give to get”, my gifts are given with love and no strings attached.  I don’t “need” a thank you or acknowledgement to make me feel good about myself.

However, I am always aware of the gratitude or lack of it that the recipient shows.  Why?  Because I can usually get a feel of where their priorities and spiritual life are.  If the gift is never acknowledged, and thanks are never given, there is definitely room for growth in that area.  I have been guilty of the same thing; I am not judging people’s hearts, only God can do that.  I am only stating the obvious…that if a person does not respond with a spirit of gratitude and love in response to a gift that was freely bestowed on them, gratitude is not on their priority list.  That is my cue to pray for them.  Only when a person has a grateful heart, will they experience love in its fullness.  That is what the Lord wants for us!

Another way to see where someone’s priorities are, is if they are even willing to give the gift of time or a material gift to another person…or maybe they just grab anything they see, without thought, to fulfill an obligation?  Do they put real time and thought into it…to bring joy to someone’s life?  A thoughtful gift is so much more meaningful than an expensive one.

Little things are very telling.

So, does the Lord NEED us to worship Him, spend time with Him, thank Him, or give Him the gift of our love and appreciation, so that He can be happy?  No, He is an Almighty, Sovereign God.  He is Perfect Love.  He doesn’t need us to be anything…He DESIRES to share His Love with us!!!   He desires for us to share in His glory! He knows that we will be happy and joyful when we have a heart filled with love and gratitude.

The Lord knows where we are in our spiritual walk by our actions, priorities, and our heart’s alignment.  When we take the time to pray, spend time with Him, worship Him, and thank him for all the blessings He bestows on us and the whole world, He knows we are on our journey toward an eternity with Him.

Praise you, Jesus, for your sacrifice, so that we may have eternal life with Our Father in Heaven.  Thank you for shining the light of the Holy Spirit in our souls, so that we may journey toward Perfect Love.

O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.  Psalm 107:1

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  Matthew 6:21

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.  James 1:17