Stay in your lane!

Posted on by MSFriend

Stay in your lane! It all started last year at Steubenville’s Women’s Glory Conference when that phrase came to me. I never imagined that it would follow me for over a year but apparently I needed reminding. When the Spirit prompted me to ponder that phrase, I took it to mean stay focused, worry about yourself and stop meddling in other people’s “business.” Looking back, I get the sense that was only part of the message because the Spirit got creative. LOL! Let me explain.

Several months ago during mass I heard a homily that struck me – literally slapped me in the face and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since! Actually, I should say one word of the homily struck me because I don’t remember anything from the homily except this word – REMAIN! It was as if the whole world stood still after I heard that word and I can honestly say it has changed my life.

I don’t even know where to begin. Remain: remain still, remain at your job, remain with the projects you began, remain on the spiritual path set for you by God, remain hopeful, remain docile, remain obedient, remain still long enough to let God catch up, remain calm, remain faithful, remain open to the Holy Spirit – just to name a few. It goes without saying that this word touched every aspect of my life – my spiritual life, my personal life, my career. That one word literally changed everything. It changed how I currently approach life and it’s liberating.

All this to say – have you ever walked out of mass thinking to yourself: Nothing! I got nothing from that homily or I couldn’t understand that priest or something close to that? Maybe consider the fact that Jesus is the one speaking through that priest. I don’t know about you, but when I read some of the things Jesus said I find he’s difficult to understand too! But this word that came to me during the homily is proof that even one word gleaned from a homily can change your life. All you have to do is be open to receive it! God bless you!

Set back and set free

Posted on by MSFriend

Set back AND set free? How can that be? I got to thinking about this as I reflected on the past year of my life and my current situation. I recently returned to work after a year long leave. Returning to work was not a decision I made lightly. In fact, I discerned my return for MOST of the year. Luckily, God was with me, guiding me every step of the way.

This past year was a doozy! My leave started out as a result of my dad experiencing a recurrence of liver cancer. I couldn’t see how I could integrate being caregiver and working at a demanding job which left little time in my day for anything else but decompression. So I trusted and took my leave without pay. One event led to another and by the time my year was done, I had experienced 3 hospital encounters with dad, one with mom, mom’s sudden onset of anxiety and depression, the loss of my beloved dog, Foster, a skin infection which lasted several weeks, my husband’s skin cancer and I believe “that’s all!” Yikes!

In the midst of it all, many good things happened as well! Trips abroad, home renovations, and healing of wounds I didn’t even know I had. As I write this, God’s plan becomes even more clear as I recognize His love, compassion and mercy – it literally brings tears to my eyes. God’s plan is always so much better than our own. I recognize now the set backs served to slow me down and shut me up so I could HEAR what He had to say – so I could see where He was leading.

There were times during this year where I thought I had figured out where God was leading and yet the setbacks kept coming. It was as if God was saying “Nope” that’s not it, keep listening. Remain! Finally, I got to a point where the light bulb went on. I felt a call to something totally different than what I had originally thought. A totally different path forward and a totally different way of being and it was THEN that the set backs ended and it felt as if I could breathe again. Things were in order, boundaries set and I had a deeper understanding of God’s love and tenderness.

The lessons I learned from this past year: God is always calling us to something deeper and it’s in our best interest to listen. Set backs in our lives can be God’s way of slowing us down, calling us to be still in order to hear what He wants or expects of us. He’s always calling us to participate in His plan – He never forces us but gives us opportunities. The set backs in our lives are the opportunities. When you trust and surrender to God, He never disappoints. The biggest lesson from this year is: There’s only one God and I’m not Him. Self reliance is REAL and it’s NOT good! Total dependence on God is not only good but necessary!

There’s no question we live in a wounded world. We’re all wounded but God wants his children to be healed. Sometimes that requires uncomfortable work but it’s a sure path to freedom. If you’re experiencing set backs in your life today, ask God for the grace to help you see where He is calling and how He is revealing himself to you through the set back. What is it that He expects of you? How is He calling you deeper? What needs healing, changing? Part of this year I spent working on a program called Healing the Whole Person. It’s a program offered through the JPII Healing Center and can be done in person or online. I would highly recommend it to everyone who reads this. We all have a responsibility to help heal the mystical body of Christ and we do that by starting within our own sphere of influence – ourselves first. No doubt it takes time and emotional energy. It may even set you back. But Jesus could not have set a better example from the cross of how set backs can lead to ultimate freedom! Put the work in, you won’t be disappointed. God bless you!