Thankful Thursday - both and

Again - time has slipped away.  Rather than bemoan that fact, I want to revel in what that has meant for me.  It’s been 7 months since I uprooted my life.  It seems like I’ve lived and worked here for years.  At the same time, the friendships and relationships I’ve left behind are missed and I feel the loss deeply.  But that is life.  Either or.  Both choices may be good, but you can only choose one.  I know, sometimes you get lucky and it’s not an either or, it’s a both and.  I do find that to be true, too.  Moving here has allowed me to combine my job with my faith.  I cannot begin to describe my gratitude for this opportunity.  

Yes, there are bumps and snags.  No, not every day is great, grand and glorious in my eyes.  I still struggle with good choices and a positive attitude and living for God.  I have a feeling those are permanent circumstances.  But, if I immerse myself the opportunities present, I know I am on the right path.  Both and wins, as do I.  

Prayer - Lord, thank you for the days when I struggle, as they remind me to lean on You.  Thank you for the times I feel out of control, as I learn that You control all.  Thank you for the moments when I despair, as You give me hope and grace when I cling to You.  May I always come to You first, for in You I am helped.

The craziness of life

It's been a long time since I've posted, and I think my circumstances are affecting my writing.  Some of it is procrastination, lack of discipline, and laziness on my part, but I've also not had a strong desire to write, mostly because I haven't thought I have much to share.  So, just like I've been living out of 'boxes' for the past months, my writing has been buried away, waiting to be unpacked and organized.  Don't get me wrong, I love where I am, and God is so very good to me, but I can really relate to a version of this well-known phrase by St. Augustine:  ". . . our soul is restless until it finds rest in You."  Or maybe my version would go like this, 'my soul is restless until I can put some order in my life.'

I guess, in some ways, I've used this time of transition as an excuse to become complacent.  I can see it in my haphazard Bible study time, my inconsistent prayer time, and my incorrect assumption that everything will be 'fixed' when I have my own place.  Yet, I know that I'm on a journey toward Heaven, and a 'permanent' address from the USPS isn't going to give me a perfect, organized prayer life or unlimited inspiration.  Granted, there will be some chaos that I will remove from my life, but I think the lesson has been much more important than inconvenient.  

I see this time of transition as an extended retreat.  The way that this change came about in my life was so smooth in the opportunity and the timing, I knew it was God's plan being manifested.  I think if I had gone directly into a routine here i.e. Instantly selling my house or finding one here, without traveling through times that required patience and trust, things might look a little different.  The transformation of my life on the outside (new job, new city, new focus) may not have reflected the reality of my life on the inside.  And so, I praise Him.




  

Pentecost 2016

Happy Birthday, Church!

Today we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.  We wear red to signify the tongues of fire that descended upon the apostles.  We also get to sing a sequence.  The sequence is only required on certain feasts, Pentecost being one of them.  The sequence is used to increase the solemnity of the feast, while allowing us to further explore the celebration.  Think of it as extra frosting of our already delicious Mass!  

As I was anticipating the Mass today, I read my book study commentary.  This sentence really stood out, "The strength of our love for Jesus is the measure of how well we keep his commandments and word, how well we care for each other."  Read it again.  "The strength of our love for Jesus is the measure of how well we keep his commandments and word, how well we care for each other."  I don't know why it struck me this particular time, as it's not a new message by any means.

"He said to them, 'You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.  The second is like it:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  ~Matthew 22:36-46

Thankful Thursday - Home, sweet home

Well, that was fast.

As in, I got an offer on my house and they wanted to close in 15 days!  Yikes.  Yesterday was closing, and now I am without a house.  Thanks to my fabulous realtor, Steve, for his time and commitment.  I am grateful for the opportunity to work with him.  God is good.

Having listed my house in January, shortly after I opened the current chapter in my life journey, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of speed.  "The housing market is good," they said.  "Your house will sell quickly," they said.  I guess it's all relative.  

It's official!

It was definitely evident that God had a plan, even if I didn't know the details of said plan.  For one thing, I was never panicked about the sale of my house.  That's not to say I didn't have moments of anxiety or doubt.  Yet, I had a peace about the situation that wasn't of this world.  I am grateful that God granted me the grace of patience in this situation.  I had just experienced God's plan when I accepted my new job, so it made sense that this would have been figured out already.  Cross that off of my to-do list :-)

One thing that really made me smile was the timing of the offer.  I had been planning a surprise party on May 1, and the venue ended up being my unoccupied house, for lack of a better option.  The phone call about the offer came April 27, and I just knew that the timing was certainly of God - enough time to wrap things up, have the party, finalize details, and revel in God's goodness.  I liked the idea, too, that this happened around Tasha's birthday - I'm sure she had her fingers in there as well.

Celebrating the sale :-)

What's next?  I'm not sure.  In the next moments, I want to focus on God's goodness and the gifts I have received.  I cannot express enough how thankful I am for everyone's love and support.  So I will close with this prayer:

Ephesians 3:14-19  "For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

The house formerly known as mine :-)

Perfect timing

I was looking back at some of my posts while trying to find a fitting title for this one.  I've noticed that my recent focus appears to be on time, i.e. God's timing, patience, seasons, etc.  This one is in much the same vein.  There is so much to say, I'm not sure my thoughts can be expressed completely.  Life is complicated.  In one breath we experience joy, and the next, sadness.  Time is the great equalizer, granting perspective or hindsight.  There are so many pieces that we don't understand while they are happening, but occasionally, we can look back and glimpse God's work in our lives.

I was recently back to my old 'stomping grounds' as I was playing for a wedding.  Interestingly enough, the cantor was my former neighbor.  We practiced a few times, and chatted back and forth via text.  We talked more in the last two weeks then we probably did in the five years I lived across the street.  She made a comment to me that she wished we had connected sooner.  I agreed.  Sometimes it takes big changes to see something that's right across the street.  Yet, I believe that God's timing is perfect, even if it is occasionally confusing.