A Child's Plea

There are certainly times when I wonder what on earth (or what in heaven) God is doing with my life.  When I truly submit to His will, perhaps then I will be consoled, but in the meantime, I find myself grasping at the hem of Christ's garment, hoping that there is a sliver of healing to be found there.  Yet at this time, Christ stares at me lovingly, yet chooses to refrain from performing a bold miracle for me in this present time.

I have often asked the question to myself, but mostly to God: "Why?".  And it still remains the most pressing question.  "Why, God?  Just, why?"  Sometimes I have asked this question in extreme anger and frustration - as well as in tears.  Other times I have asked the question as though it were a plea or petition of sorts - like that of a child going to her mother or father to ask permission for something they think is good for them. 

And, to take the analogy a little further, if a child goes running to his father when he has cut himself, a father would not be one to let his child suffer and continue to bleed.  On the contrary - he would rush to attend to the needs of his own beloved child, washing the child's cut under cold water, and placing a bandage on the cut.

Likewise, Christ rushes towards us when we are in need of His tender love and mercy.  He does not hesitate to come to us in our need - so long as we are aware of our own need.  For, the physician cannot come to a patient who does not acknowledge or recognize that he is in need of care.

Yet there are times when a bandage would be of no use to the child.  Sometimes the suffering the poor child endures is of a kind that the parent can only assist in an intercessory way, that is, through prayer.  Sometimes, there is no explanation to the child's suffering - it simply is.

Yes, God our Father sometimes permits us to suffer, but he does not do so unnecessarily.  If He needs to prevent it, He will.  I firmly believe that there are many sufferings - be it illnesses, sicknesses, or even conflicts - that God actively chooses to intervene for us for our own sake.  Yet I wonder: Do we even recognize those times when God intervenes for us?

Or is it the other way around?  Are we so focused on the times that God does not intervene right away - or even in a way that we expect or hope for - that we fail to see the times that He is so gracious to us?  I think it is very easy to slip into a mentality of, "Well, God could heal me right now, but He's not. WHY?"  And, in a certain sense, this is a valid question.  Yet, if we truly trusted in God's will, we could ask for healing, but wouldn't we still be open to whatever He has permitted for us to go through?  That is the most challenging statement to hear - especially for myself.  Sure, we can ask God why He permits us to suffer so much.  Sometimes, there is a clear answer.  And sometimes... the answer remains veiled from us.

And yet, in the midst of all my sufferings, I desire to remain faithful.  I desire to remain hopeful.  I desire to remain joyful.  I will admit... No, I'm not always faithful.  No, I'm not always hopeful.  No, I'm not always joyful.  But, in spite of the times where I have proven unfaithful, despairing, and miserable, I am still reminded of the two verses from the Gospels: "...Take up your cross and follow me" (Mt. 16:24).  And: "For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." (Mt. 11:30).

Christ certainly has given us crosses to bear in this life.  But He did not call us to bear them alone.  We, as Christians - as the Mystical Body of Christ - are called, not to isolate, not to carry on in self-pity, but to.... (as in the wise words of Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings) to, "Share the load".  

Christ encourages us, especially throughout the Scriptures, to yes, take up our cross, but to not be afraid to go forwards in bold confidence, trusting in His love and mercy.  We are called to bear our crosses unashamedly, leaning on the support of our beloved Christ, who indeed invites us not only to share the load with him, but also with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ - to share in the trials of the Church Militant.

Putting Things into Perspective

And so... we have entered into the month of October.  I have a strong suspicion that this year isn't going to creep by - rather, it is going to fly by, in the best way possible.  Yet, that doesn't change the fact that each day is either slipping by or being savoured - which one is it for me?

It is a challenge, indeed, to savour each day, both the good and the bad ones, yet isn't this precisely what we are called to do as Christians?  For, what is time, after all, to our beloved Father in Heaven but that which shapes us into who we are to become?  As it says in the Scriptures, "But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8).

For myself, reading that verse, I am reminded of the fact that it is often the smallest and littlest of things that have the greatest impact.  It's all a matter of putting it into perspective.
How often do we think of the fact that our small actions throughout the day - such as doing an authentic charitable act for a brother or sister - are either pointing us towards eternal salvation or away into eternal damnation?

It is indeed mind-boggling to think of that jarring truth.  Yet, in light of that truth, it should not be discouraging to us to know that even one of our days can be like "a thousand years" to our Heavenly Father.  Rather, this truth should inspire us - to live our lives as though tomorrow might never come - that instead, Christ is waiting eagerly for us, and that we should always anticipate being with him, and that we are ready to be received into Heaven.

And that's the striking beauty of it all!  Odd, isn't it, how these things, which matter the most, often slip our minds during the mundane day-to-day tasks that we are called to do?  Yet, if we make each act during the day an intentional step towards loving our Lord, we are precisely being led to eternal salvation.  And this is the truth that should excite and invigorate us.  How awe-some it is, that our Lord made it so that the actions we do with charity (the love that Jesus speaks of in the Scriptures) are actually leading us closer to Him.  Amazing - if you ask me.

Yet, this revelation does not come without its struggles.  What about the times that we are called to act charitably, and we fail to do so?  Well, this is when Christ calls us back to Himself through the mercy of His Cross.  "[For] In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace...." (Ephesians 1:7 - emphasis added).  Christ is merciful to us.  If we simply are willing to ask for his forgiveness,  He comes to us immediately in mercy and in love.  The "Divine Mercy" is indeed a very real and beautiful thing.

So, in light of all these beautiful and awe-inspiring truths, where do we go from here?  After all, I did say it was simply a matter of "putting things into perspective". ;-)
Yes, it is indeed a matter of "putting things into perspective".  The simplest and littlest actions make the world either a more beautiful or a more broken place.  And so, with that, I challenge each of us, to make the world, through our daily mundane tasks, a more beautiful place, despite having been broken.

Let us savour the beauty of each day, at the end of each day, recalling to mind all the things that we have done, both good and bad, and offer it all up to Christ, who knew, as He suffered out of love for us on the Cross, that we would fall from time to time.  Yet Christ's mercy remains triumphant.  Let us then indeed savour the beauty of each day, for this is the day God has given us.