Easter: More than a Day

Friends of Faith:

Happy Easter! Can I say that today, for it’s been more than a week since we celebrated Easter by dressing up and going to church with our families?

Have you ever thought that Easter isn’t just one Sunday of joy or that Christmas isn’t just about giving or sharing gifts for one day?

I’ve asked and been asked this before: “If you believe what you say you believe, then do you act as if you believe what you say you believe?”

“Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him,“We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Jn 20: 24-25

Most of us forget easily. We constantly ask for “proof.” We stop doing what we know needs to be done because we don’t see the results, the results don’t last, or because the results aren’t fast enough.

We don’t act like it’s Easter or Christmas every single day. Even things that are “easy” like getting dressed up to go to church with the entire family, or enjoying a family meal together are done only once in a great while. And even though we know the commandments we fail to speak kindly to and about our spouse, or to take the time to spend with them or do something for them, yet that was what we promised and believed on the day we said “I do.”

And like Thomas who walked with Christ through his 3 years of ministry, we still “ask” for proof to see what we already know, and to “feel”what we quit actively participating in.

Think about the forgiveness and allowances (peace) we see members of a family make on a holiday, at a funeral, or at a special family gathering. Or the difference in the way we act with our spouse in public vs how we treat them at home.

Heavenly Father, you are always present, always forgiving, always loving. I ask that the Holy Spirit will bless me with the gifts of patience, tolerance, perseverance and fortitude so that I may think less of myself, treat others with more dignity and forgive others their faults more readily. Thank you for giving me the chance to see You in another Easter Day. Amen.

Being Christian is more than celebrating a couple of special days in a year. It is about acting Christ like; it is about being able to say: I forgive, I’ll share and I’ll proclaim EVERY day of the year.

Because isn’t every day called to be a special day. Isn’t Christ always sharing by being present (Christmas)? And didn’t Christ restore us by dying for us so that our sins would be forgiven (Good Friday)? And didn’t He rise and proclaim the Good News (Easter)?

Believe for yourself that today is Christmas, Good Friday and Easter. And then act so that those around you may come to believe also.

Make today and everyday a day to give, forgive and proclaim His blessings,

In faith,

Charlotte

Winners

Friends of Faith:

 

We all want to win—at golf, football, volleyball, in teaching a child what’s best for them and in the discussion with our husband as to who is going to do the dishes tonight.

 

But have you ever finished on the “right side” of a conversation and felt like you lost, or maybe that you shouldn’t have been in the conversation at all, or that someone “let” you win just so they didn’t have to continue the discussion?

 

And have you ever “won” the discussion about the dishes and then decided to help your husband do them? Did you realize that the discussion wasn’t about “not doing the dishes” but rather about “sharing the duty” of the dishes?

 

What is it about winning that makes us uncomfortable and makes us feel as if in reality we have lost—even when we win—that even sometimes makes us end up doing what we so wanted to get out of doing?

 

I think it’s because in actuality every time we win, we create a loser—we make someone “feel” less, and intuitively, in our heart and soul, God wants us all to be more, to become greater, not in our own eyes, but in His. He wants us to be His winner and in order to do that we need to be doing what is right by him, not making ourselves be stronger and more powerful—instead of Him.

 

It’s why it feels so good when our husband “volunteers” to do the dishes—because when he does, he makes me feel special—like he did it just to help me. Or way it feels so good when I am the recipient of the thank you for having folded and hung up his clothes so that he could find and wear his favorite shirt (instead of leaving it wrinkled in the laundry basket).

 

Both of us avoided a conflict, both of us were winners because both of us served each other by doing what might be considered “his or her duty” without the conflict, without the argument, and without either of us becoming a winner or a loser.

 

This week’s readings were a reflection on conflict, division and conflict resolution—becoming winners and losers…

"Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division.  From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” Lk 12: 49-53

Christ wanted us to be “on fire”—not on fire between us, as we so often are, but on fire for Him—to be a real “forever” winner because we weren’t arguing amongst ourselves, looking to see who has more or less, or looking to do more or less, but rather that we are working and praying to be a winner in His eyes, a speaker of His truths (not ours) and being responsible and charitable enough—serving each other so that we each feel special—like a winner (someone who is loved) in each other’s and most importantly in God’s eyes.
 

 

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. Heb 12: 1-4

 

Heavenly Father, in YOU I have won all things. Thank you for family, friends and for the ability to search for and open my heart to the truth you have set before each of us. Help me to do what is right with all that you have given me. Help me to make everyone around me feel as special as you have made them—in your image. Help me to unite, rather than to conquer and divide; to persevere in running the race and to keep my eyes fixed upon You. Amen.

 

God says we are created in him, by him and for him—to be winners through him. Our purpose is to make everyone around us winners also.

Strive today to help him create a winner in your spouse, in your child or in a stranger that comes your way—by serving them, by making them feel special through that service, and by allowing them an opportunity to do the same for you.

Blessings,

Charlotte

Life isn't Fair

Women of Faith:

We’ve all told someone at sometime: “Life isn’t fair.” And then when adversity strikes in our own life, that’s exactly what we seek--“fairness.” Why is it that we want and seek fairness for ourselves, yet when our children, a friend or family member complains to us that “life isn’t fair” it is easy to see just that… that we all must bear more than our fair share sometimes.

I read this week that I must bear my OWN crosses, that they are “shaped” for me. While we can help our friends and loved ones carry their crosses by being supportive, we can’t completely take on someone else’s burdens, sorrows or pain.

Our crosses were made for us, just like braces on our teeth, God makes our crosses to shape us and strengthen us. Our crosses are made to straighten out the crooked, and bend back the places that are supposed to be straight. They are designed to help me conform to be “God’s person”—not fairly, not evenly, but as God desires me to be.

Some of us will wear braces, others will wear glasses, and others hearing aids. And just as not everyone has to wear braces for the same length of time, some will suffer longer than others, and yet others will be asked to be of service to those who are suffering—the “doctors and nurses” of life.

For any of us who have worn or wear these aids, they are not only an aid, but a burden. They look and feel different; both from the inside—to those who are wearing them--and from the outside, to those of us that can physically see them. But just as life isn’t fair, each of these aids that burden us also shape us, change us, and make us better in some way, if we accept their help.

We also wish we could lessen the pain those “braces” have in someone else’s life. We wish we could take on the burdens of our friends and that life wouldn’t treat our children and our friends “unfairly.” It hurts to watch those we love suffer and to watch them bear their crosses. We can help by lightening their load, by being there for them, but we can’t take on their burdens. It’s not possible.

And just as someone else’s braces, glasses, or hearing aids won’t work in our lives, nor will someone else’s cross help us to grow as God wants us to grow. Just as braces hurt while they are on, only our teeth can be straightened.

Our cross becomes lighter when we allow God to become our strength, when we are not too proud to ask God (and our friends) to help lighten the load. God will always be there for us, so that when we give up our cross to God, we will become straighter: truer: stronger.

“For whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.” Mk 8:34-9:1

Dear God: Praise be the strength you have given me to bear the “unfairness” of life. Help me to always remember to ask for your grace when life’s burdens, life’s crosses start to weigh me down. Give strength to my family and friends who are suffering physically and mentally today. Thank you for your comfort and peace in each of our lives. Amen.

At times God asks us to be Simon of Cyrene, to help carry someone’s cross, to be the supporting friend; and at other times we are asked to be like Jesus, to “bear our cross,” to “give up our lives for our Father” and to suffer just as He did for us.

But just when we think we have our role down…. Well, life will probably change, and we may be put on the other side of the cross; because life isn’t fair. Are we ready?
Blessings,
Charlotte