To Be or not to BE?

Women of Faith:
I am a planner. Sometimes very organized, sometimes a little chaotic, but still I need to know where I am going and how I am going to get there. I want to know how a new recipe is going to taste, what roads we are going to take to get to someone’s house and what we are going to talk about at date night next Sunday.

I make lists. Last week’s list included cleaning out the overfull refrigerator, watering my plants and organizing the growing box of date night and marriage enrichment resources which was scattered in the office.

I felt great when I found a recipe which helped me clean out the refrigerator and saved a shopping trip.

And while I was cleaning the office I found a bunch of marriage ministry articles I had saved earlier this summer which are just right for sharing.

And I look for the “tried and true:” what worked in the past and what’s likely to work this “new” time. A recipe that is a friends favorite and date night resources which “speak to me” with stories that mirror our own or other relationships which have struggled and succeeded with issues that are real.

But I can also be frustrated and thrown “off task” by recipes which require a shopping trip for odd ingredients and interruptions in my list like the flower bed full of weeds while I was watering the plants.

And I have a tendency to want to be in FULL control and much too independent, like forgetting to ask for the help of friends who may have the “perfect” dessert recipe, or by pulling the weeds instead of using the spray can of round up which might take care of the weeds permanently.

So what’s my “ultimate” goal? Heaven! And the “ultimate” plan? God’s list: written and unwritten; passed down in the bible (Sacred Scripture) and by His followers, His friends, the disciples of Christ(Sacred Tradition).

It reminds me of the recipes I use, some in books, some in the traditions of the cooks (like my mom’s kolache recipe which can’t quite be perfected on paper.)

As I look at the “ultimate list” I see the bible which gives me Ten Commandments, the wisdom of Proverbs, and the do’s and don’ts of families and marriage in Ephesians.

And the Church was gives me the ultimate in tried and true traditions. The Tradition which gives us the words handed from Peter to each of the succeeding Popes-those happenings which were just too numerous to all be written on paper.
But now for the “real” question.

To be, or not to be?

Yes, this is the “real” question. Am I using the “ultimate” list and the “ultimate” plan: God’s words and the “tried and true?” Am I truly following the wisdom and the traditions of these very wise and understanding teachers? Am I frustrated because I have gotten sidetracked by the world rather than giving up control and becoming more dependent on God? Do I ask for His help in prayer, to God, thru Mary, and by joining with our families in Church?

If not, why not? Do we really BELIEVE in our “ultimate goal?” What is stopping us from changing our ways? What obstacles and bad habits prevent us from using the right lists and following the right recipes?

Do we pray daily? “Pray without ceasing.” 1Thes 5:16-24“Be persistent in prayer.” Colossians 4: 2

Ask God to actively BE a part of your life, so that your plans are his plans and your actions reflect His love in every list we make and every recipe we follow. And also then in thanksgiving for everyone and everything he places in our lives.

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ… For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction ...And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit, so that you became a model for all the believers…” Paul’s words to the Thessalonians 1: 2-7

Heavenly Father: Praise to Your Being! Help me to want to Be, not just to believe. Help me to lead and not just to be a follower. Help me to move with courage on my beliefs. Guide me on Your path. May I BE In You, With You and For You, today and always. Help me to Be more like Your Son. In Your name I pray. Amen.

May your list this week be modeled after God’s list,
Blessings,
Charlotte