God Archives - Page 7 of 11 - Shepherd of Faith

Where are your choices leading?

“People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, ‘If you keep a lot of rules I’ll reward you, and if you don’t I’ll do the other thing.’ I do not think that is the best way of looking at it. I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at this moment is progressing to the one state or the other.”

— C. S. Lewis, p. 92 An Excerpt From Mere Christianity

Take some time today to take stock of the person you are and the person you want to become. Are you headed in the right direction? Do you need to make some changes? Are you making the right choices? As children, our choices were made for us. At that time, we could blame bad choices on those responsible for our care. As adults, we have the power to choose for ourselves and therefore we have no one to blame but ourselves if we don’t like the person we’ve become. The good news is each day God gIves us an opportunity to start a new! May this day be the start of something new, good and beautiful for you! God bless you!

Shake it off!

Shake it off! That’s what I say to those who feel spiritually depleted. I’m there often. No shame. Sometimes I’m on fire! I’m inspired to write often, I have a constant smile on my face, I want to do everything I can to please the Lord. I pray a lot, I attend mass often, I meditate and it’s as if all is right with the world. I have time for everything, all goes according to plan and even things I didn’t expect or plan come to pass. But then there are times, like these past few months, that are trying on my soul. In a nut shell, I’ve been distracted – I’ve felt unable to quiet my mind, my patience has worn thin, I’m easily angered – there’s a sense of “fogginess” in my brain, a loss of clarity and focus. In my quest for holiness I recognize my “one step forward, two steps back” and I am disappointed at myself for falling short, then I recognize the pride implicit in that thought. So I SHAKE IT OFF! My God understands my humanness and He is constantly working within me, so I need not fret. It’s all a part of His plan – the grace filled moments, the blessings AND the stumbling blocks.

As I mentioned earlier, these past few months have been trying. At times I have felt as if God were afar off. However, when I focus and “slap myself back into reality” what I realize is He wasn’t afar off at all, I was! I was off balance. My normal routine for many years now has been to attend mass, meditate and read Sacred Scripture, daily. However, for some reason, in my distraction and spiritual laziness I had changed my routine. Even my eating habits had changed. Once I realized what I was missing, why I was off balance and started my routine again, my outlook changed. I am certain that in addition to eating right, I need to meditate, I need to devour the Word, I need to receive Christ in the Eucharist as often as possible. All these things are what keep me focused, they are what bring me joy, they are what give me peace. Just as it takes time to get off balance, to lose oneself in the daily obligations of life, it also takes time to get back into balance – balance doesn’t come the instant you decide to regroup. Balance takes time, it takes work, it takes awareness. I’m trying to rebuild my balance now. I know I’m not all the way there yet, but I feel much better.

Do you feel “off balance?” Are you distracted? Do you feel spiritually depleted? There’s nothing wrong with that. Remember you are human and never underestimate the transforming power of God – His voice, His Word, His Body and Blood. Scripture says: draw close to the Lord and He will draw close to you! So remember, if He ever feels “afar off” it’s because you’re not doing your part. It takes two to tango! God bless you!