Friends of Faith:
I’m feeling a little alone this morning as I find myself, for the
first time in about four weeks, alone in my own house, with none of our children
and no precious grandchildren (ages 2 & 4) saying “I do it myself.”
And yet I see God written all over the last four weeks, the last
four years, the last forty years plus –in the realization that I didn’t do any
of this by myself—God was in complete control—giving me gifts beyond measure—a
husband, children and grandchildren, continuing another circle of life.
He gave us life and marriage and life again--“In the beginning God created… (all living creatures)...then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being….The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him…..The man gave names to all the tame animals, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be a helper suited to the man. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When he brought her to the man, the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man this one has been taken.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.*Gn2:7, 18, 20-24
And for the third week in a row we heard that not only did He give us life at creation, but He gives us life through the body and blood of the Eucharist: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." Jn 6:51
I am not to “do it FOR myself” I am to “do it for God.” I was created to be a “helper.”
I am not to “choose” whether I will give life—He has given me the gift of life.
And just as we have to have patience with a two year old who wants to do it herself we are to have patience with God who does it Himself—IF we let him.
“For with God all things are possible.” Mt 19:26
God is in control: of our life and our every blessing here on earth—family, food, shelter and health, and ultimately our spiritual well-being, our eternal health and life in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are the Maker, the Creator, the Life of us all. Help me to appreciate and never take for granted all of the living gifts you have given me. Thank you for physical health, for the spiritual food of Your word, and for the heavenly food given to us by Your institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. Praise be your life giving rain and sunshine which provides food for our earthly bodies. Amen.
So while we have gotten very good at “doing it ourselves” have we forgotten that God’s purpose for us was to be “helpmates” for each other?
And has teaching “I do it myself” become “it’s all about me”—selfishness?
Or should it be an opportunity to teach patience, dependence on each other, reliance on God, appreciation of life and thanksgiving for our many gifts, especially the gift of life itself.
Will we teach just as strongly: “I do it for God?”
What can I really do myself? I can choose God’s truth. I can choose life. And I can choose to be a helpmate to all of his human creation.
This week “do it for God and with God”—not by yourself or for yourself,
Blessings,
He gave us life and marriage and life again--“In the beginning God created… (all living creatures)...then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being….The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him…..The man gave names to all the tame animals, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be a helper suited to the man. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When he brought her to the man, the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man this one has been taken.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.*Gn2:7, 18, 20-24
And for the third week in a row we heard that not only did He give us life at creation, but He gives us life through the body and blood of the Eucharist: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." Jn 6:51
I am not to “do it FOR myself” I am to “do it for God.” I was created to be a “helper.”
I am not to “choose” whether I will give life—He has given me the gift of life.
And just as we have to have patience with a two year old who wants to do it herself we are to have patience with God who does it Himself—IF we let him.
“For with God all things are possible.” Mt 19:26
God is in control: of our life and our every blessing here on earth—family, food, shelter and health, and ultimately our spiritual well-being, our eternal health and life in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are the Maker, the Creator, the Life of us all. Help me to appreciate and never take for granted all of the living gifts you have given me. Thank you for physical health, for the spiritual food of Your word, and for the heavenly food given to us by Your institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper. Praise be your life giving rain and sunshine which provides food for our earthly bodies. Amen.
So while we have gotten very good at “doing it ourselves” have we forgotten that God’s purpose for us was to be “helpmates” for each other?
And has teaching “I do it myself” become “it’s all about me”—selfishness?
Or should it be an opportunity to teach patience, dependence on each other, reliance on God, appreciation of life and thanksgiving for our many gifts, especially the gift of life itself.
Will we teach just as strongly: “I do it for God?”
What can I really do myself? I can choose God’s truth. I can choose life. And I can choose to be a helpmate to all of his human creation.
This week “do it for God and with God”—not by yourself or for yourself,
Blessings,
Charlotte
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