The Challenges are a Blessing in Disguise

I read in someone's profile recently some wise words..behold the wonderment of life but know that there also challenges and that we can get thru them.

I dug deeper this week as it was one of my more challenging weeks with quite a few curve balls thrown my way.  In baseball, when you anticipate a curve ball then you can prepare but when you don't then you swing badly….but thats the beauty you reflect and you practice.:-)

And so I practiced self reflection, I had to to make sense of the pain. The event and circumstances is one thing but it's what is triggered in me that I looked at more deeply. What did I do well, how do I feel about what I did not do well? What was the unexpected result or blessing that came out of it? How can I be more gracious in my  actions/decisions when I make them and in my responses when I am caught by surprise and most importantly..how can I be gracious no matter what the result is?

It is easy to blame others..it is quiet another to embrace where they are at and where you at and what  you and they have done and then in dignity and with courage respond in kindness and decisively when it becomes clear how you want to respond. 

Reactions to an event that causes you harm are usually only necessary in an emergency or life threatening situation..but even then there is the grace of God giving you a choice on how to respond. And if you have time to think and to collect your emotions..take it.  Weigh it out. Their needs, your needs..what is fair..call on friends who give you wise input and then turn to the Lord if the still quiet voice has not spoken yet…decide and then act.

The result is many times not as bad as you initially think..you learn about the other person..you learn about yourself.  The result in the end probably led you to a desired outcome or to a more authentic place. The ones where you are in each others lives for a reason are blessed. The other's that are in each other's lives for a season are blessed and the one's designed to accompany you for the journey are blessed.

All are blessings and we have to be thankful..we each help or helped each other grow.

Our Lord and Savior is the model of how to handle challenges. The pain was real and the result seemed horrible. However, his human nature grew in love for us as his divine nature and calling lead him down a unique and loving path.  He received the greatest glory and worship in the end. And the result for us too is an undeserved and huge blessing…perhaps our biggest blessing of all. A self-sacrificial love that if we accept and walk in HIS path will lead us to a joy filled life, the greatest aid to face our challenges and an army here on earth and in heaven ready to assist you on this journey and get you safely to an even better place with an even greater promise in the end.:-)

As we start the month of February, I think of January and embrace the changes in me and my life and I give thanks to God and those who touched me this month in kind and not so kind ways.:-) 

I look forward to the Superbowl, to Lent, to the day of love and friendship and embrace this glorious journey where we are invited to grow…painful yes..but it is the most loving thing we can do for others and ourselves. Thank you Lord for gifting us with this life full of blessings and wonder, full of love and full of challenges…all for your glory and our sanctification.

Reflect and be grateful when challenges come for they are a blessing in disguise.

Give Thanks for it is Right and Just

So I am doing the Southern California equivalent thing with my blog.:-)  I am at Manhatten Beach awaiting a sunset and its 70 degrees the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Truly I am blessed. I am blessed to call two marvelous places home in what arguably is the best state in the country. Which segways me into the theme of this blog.

Last year I made a new years resolution to attend daily mass. Of course I have missed a few but by and large and certainly of late I have made it pretty much every single time. And why do I mention this?

P: "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God." C: "It is right and just." P:  It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks through your beloved son Jesus Christ." These are the words I utter and hear daily at mass. 

These words are so deep and true that I can not give them justice in a simple blog. Simply put we are designed to give thanks and yielding to this desire brings us joy and conversely thwarting that is to our detriment. 

It is great that we have a national holiday reminding us to give thanks. But I would suggest it should be a daily reminder and even a moment to moment reminder. Every breath we take is a gift, every meal, every experience, every person and every good thought is a gift:-) Imagine giving thanks for our good thoughts too? 

I am reminded of two real life experiences that I have been graced to be acquainted with. One is an Australian man named Nick Vujicic who was born without arms and legs. Certainly not the ideal physical condition. But it’s what he does with that is what shows is what reality is and that gratefulness will lead us to that heavenly kingdom. I have attached a link on him as my description would not do him justice. Here is one of his briefest videos. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKTg_INHgpc

Then saw an African American young man who was born without arms and had a dream of being an engineer for a racing company. He achieved his goals and learned to type with his feet. He was grateful for his gifts and pursued them. Here is a brief your tube story on him. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-BephrXDwY

Could it be as simple as that? Be grateful for your gifts and give thanks and praise by maximizing the most. The alternative is focusing on what you lack and  feeling badly about it or complaining about it.  Fixing it you say? I would dare say that is a gift...fixing what you or others lack. We can resolve to help those who celebrate Thanksgiving only by our generosity or praying for those who don’t or can’t celebrate it, even if they want to. That is being thankful.

When we tune into the Lord the giver of all good gifts and give HIM thanks and praise our lives become a mirror of that. And what greater joy could our Heavenly Father have than to see you using your gifts and asking for his graces. What you end up doing for HIM and his Glory will in turn glorify you. I would dare say HE delights in this.

So this thanksgiving when you gather around table with the Turkey and the trimmings with family and the friends...pause for a moment and give thanks to God for so many daily things..even the things that seem like they are not good..for behold HE can turn any situation around for your good if you let Him. Invite God in, in your joys and in your pains. It does not matter whether you got yourself into the mess by your own fault or if you are the victim of a senseless act or born a certain way...invite HIM in and what follows from you will surprise you. And please don’t forgot to give God HIS due and Give Thanks.