Journaling Archives - Page 47 of 68

The best things in life are free! Amen! My husband called me shortly after he left for work to share a thought. He said: “I know we’ve heard this phrase before but I never really put much thought into it until now: the best things in life are free! The air we breathe, the love we share, nature………..” I agreed there was so much to that statement I said: “Thanks for the content, I’m going to have to elaborate on that on my blog.” That’s my husband – showing support always! I’m grateful for the beautiful blessing!

I thought of it all day – free – the air we breathe, the love we share, the beauty that surrounds us. There’s so much more. Our 5 senses, our relationships, the sun shining on our face, a smile, a hug, a kiss, faith, hope, love, mercy, compassion, etc. The reality of it is the best things in life are free and those are the things we take most for granted.

As the week progressed, I kept thinking about “the best things in life” and suddenly I was struck by the thought that not only are the best things in life free of cost, but they are free of “stuff”. For example, the best friendships are free of envy and jealousy; the best marriages are free of secrets, abuse, disrespect, selfishness; the best families are free of conditions, gossip and hate, just to name a few. Truly something to think about!

I continued my week pondering. As I sat in the nursing home, in support of my mother, as my grandmother lay in her bed ready to transition to the next life, I realized something else that was free: TIME! Some people say time is money, I beg to differ. Time is free and time is grace-filled. Time is a gift from God . As we see in the book of Ecclesiastes when we read “to everything there is a season, a time to be born and a time to die…..”, God is calling the shots. Time is precious – when we give of our time to those in need of companionship, a shoulder to cry on, or simply just our presence – our time is worth more than its weight in gold.

During the last week of my grandmother’s life, I spent countless hours at her bedside with my mom. At times I would get up to take a walk to the bathroom or stick my head out the door to see what was going on. At one point, there was a woman who suffered with dementia. She was sitting alone in the hallway. According to her, she was waiting for her daughter to take her to the airport. She was going home to Nicaragua. She was upset because her daughter hadn’t arrived. She was crying because she truly believed she was going to miss the plane. Unfortunately, the nurses had heard it all before and their schedules were packed with patient needs so she was being ignored. This made her feel that much more desperate. My heart was filled with compassion. I thought to myself: is this what it all comes down to? We work hard, we live and sacrifice for our families, only to wind up in a nursing home, alone, ignored and confused. It saddened me that so many patients were experiencing the same thing. So I took the time to chat with this woman. My time was free and the woman was elated. She went from crying to smiling, even laughing at times. I took a walk with her, I listened to her, I helped her back into bed. I distracted her. That was all she needed. This experience had such a profound effect on me, I would like to continue visiting the nursing home, even after my grandmother’s passing.

To give of our time shows concern, care and compassion. It makes those on the receiving end feel special, cared for, loved, appreciated and less lonely. As children of God, we must learn to discern when giving of our time is necessary – we must learn to discern when it’s time to STOP, give up on our “busy-ness” and selfishness and give of our time for someone else’s benefit. We must be willing to sacrifice our wants and needs in order to provide for the needs of others. I am one of those people who often feels there are not enough hours in the day to complete everything I want or set out to do – from office work, to errands, to house chores and more. Despite my “to-dos”, I feel attuned to the demeanor, voice and needs of others. I see in my neighbor’s demeanor her need for comfort after her husband’s passing or my parents’ need for my help and presence in a difficult moment. I can hear in my siblings’ voices a need for comfort, a pep talk, or encouraging words when life’s circumstances seem grim. I can hear in a friend’s voice a desire for advice or spiritual direction.

There are days when I have so much to do I don’t know where to begin – yet if someone calls me to talk or needs me to drop what I am doing to be somewhere, there I am. TIME, one of the best things in life, is free. Time is a gift from God freely given to you, don’t hoard it, don’t be stingy, share it, there’s more where that came from. Remember, when you use the excuse that you’re “too BUSY” you’re admitting to Being Under Satan’s Yoke (heard it from a deacon during one of his homilies). Is that where you really want to be? God bless you!

The cross of Christ! The more I sit in stillness – meditating, contemplating – the more I realize how connected we are to one another and how connected we are to Christ!

I sat one day during Eucharistic Adoration looking at the enormous crucifix that hung over the altar. As I thought of Christ’s journey to get there one word came to mind: contradiction. What was it about the cross that brought contradiction to mind? I thought maybe I still had Judas on the brain. However, the more I pondered, the more apparent the contradiction became. So I created this concrete poem:

CONTRADICTION

King – crucified

agony – sorrow for sin

scourged – purified

crowned – courageous; cross – patience

crucifixion – perseverance; humbled – exalted

weakness – strength; sin – mercy; hatred – love

spitting and buffets – compassion; selfishness – sacrifice

disobedience – obedience

suffering – salvation

death – life

buried – RISEN!

I wanted to post this during Holy Week but it didn’t feel complete at that time. Although I didn’t change or add anything to it, now I know why it had to wait. During my meditation this morning, it dawned on me that our lives are just as contradictory as the cross of Christ.

We journey through life happy, sad, ecstatic, depressed, anxious, at peace, loving, judging, satisfied and disappointed, just to name a few. This brought to mind a conversation I had with a priest during one of my retreats. He said to me “the sooner we realize we’re all alone in this world, the happier we will be.” This comment left me puzzled. He explained that no matter how close you think you may be to someone, there is always that little something you don’t share with them. I had a problem with that generalization because my husband and I are very close. We talk about everything, we love beyond words and we support each other in all things. I thought about the bible verse: “the two shall become one.” That IS us! But, after giving it much thought, I realized what the priest was trying to say. No one, not even people with the closest relationships, shares the exact same thoughts and feelings about EVERYTHING. So in that sense, I guess we ARE all alone in this world. Another way of saying it is we are all unique. Why is that? Here comes the contradiction. Romans chapter 12:4-8 tells us: for just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly; if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. So you see, we are all separate “members” of one body but in our separateness we are meant to be part of the “whole” mystical body of Christ. We are all alone and yet we are meant to be united.

That being said, I would agree with that priest in a sense. I would go a bit further and say: the sooner we recognize the contradiction we call life, the sooner we realize we are all alone AND united in this world, the happier we will be. Let me elaborate on that for a moment. The sooner we realize that no one else in this world is like us, the sooner we can let go of the expectations we have of others and the happier we will be. Spouses, friends, siblings, children, co-workers, etc. will never think or act exactly alike. They’ll never do what you do, they’ll never be as thoughtful or compassionate, they’ll never be as caring, generous, organized or dedicated. Guess why? They are NOT YOU! They will never BE YOU! Release yourself from your expectations and focus on exercising YOUR gifts accordingly, as Scripture says.

On the flip side of that, the sooner we realize that we are ALL on this journey together, that we ALL have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, we cease to be envious, jealous, judgmental or prejudice and strive to pool our gifts together for the greater good. When we begin to realize that we are each one small part of the bigger picture, our perspective changes and we become the loving creatures we were created to be. We become that bond of love depicted on the cross of Christ! God bless you!