comfort – Our Best Life

Welcome them…

Welcome the awkward moments, the disapproving stares, the under the breath judgements and tongue clicks in humble silence for both our sweet Lord Jesus and our sweet Mother Mary. They endured these and much more throughout their lives. We have only read some of the persecutions of our Lord, Jesus, and the others I don’t think we can even imagine them, they were so terrible. We have read even less about what Mary endured, but imagine for a moment what Mary humbly endured at the discovery of her pregnancy out of wedlock. We know how gently St. Joseph dealt with the news and we know of his change of heart after being visited by an angel of the Lord in his dream, but we don’t often think of how her neighbors treated her in this situation, but we can image because we see this situation often in our world today.

Welcome them, these difficult moments in life, and run to Mary, clinging to her leg, hiding in her skirt, kneeling at her feet and welcoming her loving comfort and encouragement and remember that Mary raised Jesus, comforting, guiding and encouraging Him in these moments and she will do the same for us.

Pray in these moments as Our Lady of Fatima recommends when you make a sacrifice or humbly and silently accept a persecution:
O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Peter 4:14
If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of Glory and of God rests on you.

Sitting in comfort…

I prayed in a small, quiet chapel this morning. As I sat there I prayed with my head bowed, asking for this, asking for that, apologizing for this, apologizing for that and then just as I was leaving I looked up and saw Christ hanging on the cross.

I was embarrassed to be sitting there so comfortably and so focused on myself without once regarding Him, without once humbly kneeling down to Him as He still hangs there taking on our sins as we continue to pile them on.

What are we doing my friends? He should be a part of every thought, every intention, every action of our lives.

He still hangs there and we still wound Him… it is so sad.

Affordable comforts?

Yesterday while I was shopping, I noticed that the price of the lunchmeat I buy had changed again. It has bounced around quite a bit over the last few months. Last year I could purchase a package for $2.50 and then a few months ago the price jumped up to $3.20 and since then I have watched as the price has slowly come back down. Today it was priced at $2.89. I was pretty happy when I first saw the new and lower price, but as I continued shopping and pushing my overflowing cart past other carts that had 2, 5 or maybe 10 items I started thinking a little more about the drop in the price of the lunchmeat.

I started wondering about my fellow shoppers who have had to pass up the purchase of this lunchmeat for the last few months because of the high price. These are the people who have had to go without in order to bring back the lower price. I am sure that they go without more than just lunchmeat, and their sacrifices make my comforts affordable.

Their sacrifices make my comforts affordable.

Are these comforts really affordable when they are gained through the sacrifice of others?
Is our daily surplus even ours when it is gained through the sacrifice of others?

This is the supply and demand economics of the world economy that we have built and yesterday in the grocery as I watched an empty cart go by it felt backwards, if felt upside down, it felt turned around and it felt wrong.

Lord please help me remember the backs of others that I am standing on the next time I go to the grocery and come out with a little extra in my pocket. Please inspire Your generosity within my heart, help me to give with Your open hands and help me to remember that no comfort is truly affordable when it is gained through the sacrifice of another.

Our Best Life might not be comfortable…

When I originally started this blog, I did not understand very much. I still don’t understand a lot, but I think I am learning more about myself.

At the beginning there were times when I confused “comfortable life” with “best life”. As I have continued on my journey this mistake is now so painfully clear that I am actually quite embarrassed to be typing this even though I wish instead of embarrassment I felt thankful for finally realizing this and humbled as I see how blessed I have been to be surrounded by so many comforts.

At the beginning of my search I kept asking questions about my cousin’s premature death…

Why didn’t she get to graduate from college?
Why didn’t she have a chance to fall in love?
Why were we at her funeral instead of her wedding?
Why did she miss out on the joy of motherhood?
How could this have been her best life or part of our best life?

Then a few months ago I pondered the question of whether my cousin’s death was a gift of grace in disguise for our grandfather?

Maybe her life was a gift for our grandfather to finally find what he had been searching for his whole life? Maybe her life was a gift for me to finally have my eyes opened, if even just a little, to see my own greed and selfishness?

I don’t know the answer to this, but if her death was our gift, then maybe she did live Our Best Life… His will!

What better life could one live than to follow so closely in the footsteps of our sweet Jesus, Who was sacrificed for all of us?

Thank You

Almost every time I pray I ask for my family and friends to be blessed and kept safe, but what does keeping them safe really entail? What does blessing them really entail?

Do I mean for them to be healthy and kept out of accidents?
Do I mean for them to be comfortable and happy?

Will keeping them safe and blessing them bring them closer to God? I don’t know.

In Jeremiah 14:11-12
The Lord said to me: Do not pray for the welfare of this people. Although they fast, I do not hear their cry, and although they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I do not accept them; but by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence I consume them.

Was the Lord asking Jeremiah to refrain from praying for the welfare of these people because He knew that safety, comfort and blessings are not what would bring these people closer to Him? Is He saying that that they will only cry out to Him, present offerings from their hearts, and truly come closer to Him in times of war, famine and pestilence?

I am not sure, but reading this made me take a step back and wonder.

1. How often do I cry out to God in true joy and thanksgiving when I am safe, comfortable and blessed? Do these blessings help bring me closer to Him?

2. How often do I cry out to God in times of sorrow or conflict? Do these difficulties and challenges bring me closer to Him?

God wants us to cry out to Him regardless of whether it is in joy or misery. He wants to be there for us, He wants to be close to us and maybe sometimes we won’t let Him in until the difficult times arise.

God please help us to pray with humility knowing that we don’t know what is best, and help us to have faith that You do know what is best for all of us and will do everything in Your power to help us cry out to You.

Maybe my new prayer should be, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!