Along the journey towards the greater, there are many small, daily steps to better understand oneself, God, and others. This is one of my “daily steps”.
I sometimes skip the easy answers.
Last night one of our boys woke up crying every hour for awhile. The first time, he said his nose was blocked so I propped him up. The second time he said something incomprehensible about turning into a statue or something as he tossed and turned. It was the 4th time when I finally realized he was probably just cold and took the blanket I had used to prop up his pillow and draped him in it. Then, blissfully he slept.
About an hour later, my first alarm went off… and then my husband’s. We set a lot of alarms so we brought our phones close and just kept turning one after another off until “I think that’s the last one!” (It’s a holiday after all) As I lay there wide awake after the last one, I thought “I could’ve just turned them all off after the first one.” But that didn’t SEEM like the easy solution at the time
Today is Monday of the last, super short week of #advent. This week we focus on #love.
How many times have I chosen to look for an easy, quick fix to get quickly back into comfort instead of choosing perhaps the simplest solution of all – to love?
Or maybe just to believe in it?⠀
I love this #prayer by #saintjohnhenrynewman to help us believe in love:
“God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.
He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments.
Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about.”⠀
Have a wonderful Monday!
