“Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself. I mean do not be disheartened by your imperfections, but always rise up with fresh courage.”
…but always rise up with fresh courage.
Wow… what a beautiful line from St. Francis de Sales to contemplate this morning.
Do you feel it?
That “fresh courage” he speaks of?
That fresh courage to face whatever this day, this week, this month might hold for you?
Is it the grace you are praying for today?
I know it’s one of the graces I desire.
It’s a big morning here. The first day all five of us get up and go to work and school after the holiday break. It’s the first morning in a couple weeks where I have to remember backpacks, lunchboxes, charged hearing aids, and, of course, extra masks!
And it’s a day that holds so much uncertainty… A day that will probably require flexibility…
A day that definitely will require patience.
So fresh courage… and patience… that’s my prayer this morning.
To have both…
With my kids.
With the ongoing uncertainty.
With the clock.
With my to-do list.
But especially… with myself.
May we remember today that God’s love and grace are not dependent on our success or failure…. God’s love is not even dependent on our courage or our patience.
God’s love is independent of all of it.
It is there no matter what.
So let this magnanimous love be what we lean on for the fresh courage and the patience we seek today.
