Path to Summer

Women of Faith:

The allure of the promise of summer sunshine is tempered by sunglasses, wind, and rain.

The blinders of friends, the winds of society, and the pull of the gravity of cultural politics make walking into the sunshine on a straight and narrow path difficult. 

The path also has deep ditches on either side: the law on one side and my personal “feel good” wants and desires on the other. And the blinders, the winds and gravity make it very easy to be pulled into the ditches of “the law says it’s okay” or “it must be okay, because I feel happy.”

And it is difficult to climb up out of the ditch and change when we fall off the path. But that is what we are promised by Christ’s cross, by Scripture, by Church teachings and thru the lives of the Saints. We are reminded that we won’t necessarily “feel good” while striving for God’s kingdom, but that we can change and get back on the path and that we can be forgiven for stepping off.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Mt 5: 3-12

Do we fall off the path because the sun that is guiding us is shadowed by the beliefs of our friends and neighbors who say “it’s right because everyone is doing it?” Do we use slang words that are a common part of our language but that are sexually suggestive (taking God’s name in vain), by taking what is not rightfully ours from others or our workplace, such as tools and office supplies etc. (stealing), or by accepting that it is okay to live together before marriage and to have sex outside of marriage (fornication/adultery).

Are we pulled away from the sun by the gravity of laws that are passed by the powers and the principalities? Does our business set unreasonable prices because the government can afford it, the $468 hammer (free enterprise), does our government allow the union of same sex partners as marriage (equality), and do we shut our eyes against the evils of abortion (freedom to choose)? Is law setting its own path of promise and side-stepping God’s design for humanity, marriage and His commandments (stealing and killing)?

Or is the straight and narrow path dulled by the rain of the tears of pain? Often we will be asked to embrace suffering and accept grief. Rain can either wash us off the path in anger and blame or cleanse and clear the path through acceptance and forgiveness.

The ultimate reward is at the end of God’s path…. “Son”shine in heaven….priceless!!

"Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. Jn 16: 20-22

Heavenly Father the joy you promise is unending. Help me to search for and to strive to live by Your truth. Thank you for giving me living examples, like Mary and the Saints (Saint Paul, Saint Francis, Mother Teresa, and many more) for they inspire me to know that I can change, be forgiven and survive human suffering (just as Christ did) and reach your unending joy in heaven. Amen.

Will we step off to the side of the path, fall into the ditches of law, and blindly fall into the depths of the acceptance of cultural evil and sin? Or will we walk the straight and very narrow difficult path, following the allure of His son who shined thru gravity, wind and rain by speaking the truth, accepting our sufferings and showing us how to live righteously?

God’s promise is that His path will lead us to a joy that no one can take away.

May you be filled with the Spirit to stay on His path and search for that joy,
Blessings,
Charlotte

Exposing the Iceberg

Women of Faith:

“I believe in God.”” God loves me.” “I was saved on …..” “I have been saved because I took Christ as my savior.”

Have you said those words? How much do you know about what they mean to you and to others?

Have we become like the captains of the Titanic in our faith? Do we think we know what is ahead of us simply because we believe in a few words? Could it be that we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg? Are we going to be shipwrecked because we didn’t take the time to seek and expose what lies below?

Stan and I have always believed in the saying, “you never stop learning until the day you die.” And we have pushed ourselves to continually learn in every aspect of our lives. We understand that without continuous learning we would soon live only to exist. Unfortunately that is what many Christians do in their faith journey—they merely believe that God exists in their life, and that belief is all they need to know about Him.

Several years ago we went to a NACFLM (National Assoc. of Catholic Family Life Ministers) conference. Instinctively we knew that there was something under the “tip of God’s iceberg” that we hadn’t yet been exposed to as we shared our marriage in coaching couples who were struggling in their own marriages.

While our faith heard God’s call to give hope to our friends, we were blessed with the wisdom to know that our practical knowledge of marriage and faith was hiding something much richer, and much deeper, than the surface cliché’s of cultural marriage—we knew we were only seeing the “tip of the iceberg.”

We could easily have become just like the captains of the Titanic—shipwrecked by not knowing what lay below the surface, shipwrecked because we did not choose to “expose the iceberg!”

The conference was an opportunity for us to have God’s design for marriage revealed to us through Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and in couples like Greg and Julie Alexander, who’s own “crash” into the iceberg had given them an opportunity with God to delve below the surface. (www.thealexanderhouse.org)

We continue to expose God’s plan for marriage—in a very practical sense begun in those first verses of Genesis 1: 26-27 and Gen 2: 18-24, continued through every book of the Bible (Eph 4,5, & 6 is a concise summary) and ending in our marriage to God in Revelations.  What we knew before and what we continue to learn each day is that our knowledge of all of God is only the tip of His heavenly “iceberg.”

THE key to a much deeper, much richer plan for our faith journey is continual learning and continual Eucharistic presence with God—because through our study and exposure to His Eucharist we continue to have God’s design and call in our lives revealed to us.

We often recall the story of Peter when he attempted to walk on water: when his faith waivered, he began to sink. (Mt 14: 22-33)

I am no different. Unless I constantly look below the surface of my faith and trust in His presence in my life – I will sink—regardless of where I think I am at personally. It is up to God to give me the grace I need on my journey. I have to ask so He can give; and it is not something I deserve, it is a gift I receive.

And there is always MORE below the surface to learn and I am always in need of His food in the Eucharist for strength on the journey.

And just like those who sank with the Titanic, many so called Christians of today’s world will sink because they choose to “believe” in God only on the surface: fearful of change or content to see only the “tip of the iceberg.” We all want “easy” rather than what God tells us will be persecution because we choose to expose, and to live, and to profess His truth.

"Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough…." Lk 13:22-30

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few." Mt 7: 1-14

It is easier to take the wide path than it is to take the narrow. It is up to us to “expose” God’s truth, but culturally it can be easier to “believe” or ignore, than it is to “expose” the truth.

It is easier to say “I have been saved” than it is to act as if I believe (Jm 2:26 “faith without works is dead.”)

It is easier to say a private prayer than it is to regularly attend church and spend time with God.

It is easier to center our priorities on cultural entertainment (music and sports) or in trying to make ourselves happy through societies definition of “success and happiness” (money and stuff) than it is to give up our time and money for another’s well being.

We can choose to change course and act on what is exposed to us by complete submission and trust in him, or we can choose to be shipwrecked by what is below the tip of the iceberg. God gives us that choice!

Heavenly Father, Your Truth is infinite. Help me to expose You and Your truth in my life. Strengthen me with Your grace and the courage to act on Your will. May I always be ready to dig below the surface of human truth. And may my exposure to Your truth, help me to evangelize and speak Your will to others, without fear of the consequences of this world. I only look forward to seeing You revealed in heaven. Amen.

Have I done everything possible to expose the truth of God’s call in my own life? Do I live my life according to God, and do I expose what is revealed to me, by God, to others? Will I be able to stay afloat on God’s heavenly water? Or will I sink, and allow others to sink with me, because I didn’t seek and expose God’s treasures that lie below the surface?

Blessings,
Charlotte