LIFE IS TOUGH and complicated. We worry and we struggle. Too many times we try to face things alone. It does not have to be this way.
There are so many ways the Lord cares for us and accompanies us through life. Even though the world tries to divide us and isolate us, healthy and welcoming faith communities are out there.
Are you part of one?
These are places where everyday people come together based on their faith in Jesus Christ. Being part of a community goes beyond just attending church services or Sunday Mass.
It means getting to know the people and sharing the journey with them.
So if you’re not part of a community now, join one. Get to know the people. Be active. Get nourished and serve others.
You may or may not get along with your family, but a faith community is different. The reason you get together at church is because you believe.
There the Spirit weaves together a miraculous bond of faith and friendship. And the Body of Christ has a tremendous power to help and heal.
The Lion or the Bear
Which one do you want to fight?
How many times does life present you with challenges, and there’s no easy way out? So you have to choose.
Do you want to face the lion or the bear?
Stay or leave? Quit or continue? Speak or remain silent?
In many cases, one choice involves fighting alone and the other with God by your side. So you can fight the bear alone or face the lion with the hand of God upon you.
While the Lord never really leaves you alone, some choices aren’t good for us or those around us. Sometimes there’s no easy way out.
Trying to escape from responsibility can be like facing the bear alone.
Or you tighten your bootstraps, buckle up, stand up straight and come out fighting.
The lion doesn’t stand a chance with Christ as the source of your strength.
Contemplate this
Sometimes you need a one-on-one session with God. When it just gets to be all too much to handle on your own. Even a shoulder to cry on isn’t enough.
Your soul stirs. You get restless.
You might know exactly what’s bothering you, or maybe not. One thing remains certain:
You feel a longing.
Something just doesn’t seem right.
There’s an inner emptiness.
So you wake up and you find that special place. That comfy chair or space where the sun’s rays come in just right.
You close your eyes and begin — an encounter with God.
It’s a bit overwhelming really.
Floating in the vast universe, clinging to a clot of dirt, a dot of flesh turns to face the Creator.
With time these moments build upon themselves. Time passes and difficulty appears, just like for anyone.
But in his presence, you change.
Simply seeking and being in the presence of God does something to you.
It’s supernatural.
Sometimes your mouth just pours out a litany of needs and requests. In other moments, you release a mighty cry out to God. Some might even complain bitterly while the Creator of the universe patiently listens.
Once in a while, you just sit in silence.
You do not speak or even think about anything specific, yet you are wholly focused on God.
And it seems as if your heart and soul come forth to pray on their own account.
It’s spirit encountering Spirit.
It’s the image and likeness of God returning to be nourished by the source of all love and life.
Seek these moments.
Let the Lord transform you to reveal your authentic self.
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The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
1 Corinthians 2:10b-13
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