Enough Lord...

"Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, as at the love with which we do them."

St. Therese of Lisieux

Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert, until he came to a boom tree and sat beneath it.  He prayed for death, saying: “This is enough, O Lord! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 1 Kings

I have felt like Elijah and told the Lord that I had had enough.  I couldn’t go on.  Just let me die.  The Lord sent an angel to Elijah to feed him and bring him water three times.  After this Elijah was able to walk out of the desert.  It took him forty days and forty nights but he was able to go on and complete the mission that God had given him.

God provides me with food and drink and He has even sent angels though I am sure that I have not recognized all of them. The food He provides is the Body of His Son.  The drink is the Most Precious Blood of His Son.  He waits every so patiently for me to come to the table and have my fill.  For it is there that my strength truly is…As for angels He sends family and friends to help me on my journey.  They strengthen me for the challenges in my way to complete the Mission that God has given me.

This new mission is a difficult one for sure and yet at the most unexpected times God shows me quite clearly that I am on the path.  He reminds me that it is usually the small things that make the most difference.  An example was when talking to my son about the status of his life.  I asked him if he ever thought of going to church and laying it all out to God and letting God give him support and a solution.  A couple of hours later my son texted me. He asked if he could go to Mass with me.  We did go to Mass together.  After Mass he asked me if I was surprised.  My response was, “God doesn’t surprise me much these days.  I have found if I do what He wants I am so much happier.”

Lord, Cindy here;

Thank you for prodding me to extend the invitation to Mass.

Thank you for the angels that you send to me.

Thank you for the food and drink that you give me.

~Cindy

Be Still...

I am getting my pre-trip jitters.  That includes being anxious, making endless lists, and lots of sleep interrupted nights.

Every mother in the world has asked her child to, "Be Still."  Sometimes it is with actual words and sometimes it is a hand on the child's leg and sometimes it is The Look.

All week God has been asking me to "Be Still".  He knows how I panic right before a trip.  Did I pack the right clothes, the right amount of clothes?  Do I have everything that I promised to bring everyone?  Will I be able to see everyone that I need to see?  And so it goes.  I am in full Martha mode!

And yet the message remains the same, "Be Still."

I remember while in Guatemala several of us had made a trip to some water falls for the day.  You could find a peaceful part of the river and sit on a rock in the middle and if you were STILL, you were rewarded.  Suddenly you could see all the small life that was happening right there at your feet.  I remember that a certain friend came and sat next to me.  He kept moving his feet back and forth in the water disturbing my peace.  I asked, "Can't you just be still for a moment?"

The one place that I could usually be still was at night, at the helm of our boat in the middle of the ocean.  Sometimes the sky would be ebony with pinpoints of light and you could hear the water as we moved through it and the wind tugging on our sails, pulling us ever closer to our destination.  Some nights the moon would shine and light our way and the water would shimmer all around us and there would be phosperesence in our wake.  At night with everyone sleeping below I was STILL.  I felt engulfed in God's arms.

Psalm 46:10 
“Be still, and know that I am God. 
I will be exalted among the nations, 
I will be exalted in the earth!”

The prophet Elijah in today's reading hears God in the whisper of a breeze.  Today's meditation song reminded me, "Be Not Afraid", and Jesus stilled the waters for the Apostles.  I hear God speak my own words back to me..."Can't you just be still for a moment?"

Jesus, please still 
the anxiousness of my mind.
Help me to be not afraid.
I have seen you calm the waters of the ocean,
you always brought me home to safe harbor.
I ask you to still the tumult of my mind and 
whisper to me on the breeze.

~Cindy