Today, I'm going to be focusing on serving my family:
- menu planning
- grocery list making
- grocery shopping
- working (paid)
I'm also going to focus on serving God:
- I have yet to read my Lent with the Saints book (it's in the bag with my bible study/RCIA stuff)
- Catching up/getting ahead on my bible study
- Taking care of my family, which of course is how I am called to serve on a daily basis
So as I set to my daily tasks and my extra tasks... how am I motivating myself? By giving it up to God... or at least that's the plan. A friend of mine always used to talk about "giving it up" and I never really understood until last Friday. Why last Friday? I attended Stations of the Cross with the school kids for the first time since I was a school kid.
Oh, my word. No I can see why I have zero recollection of my experience as a child. I'm going to assume because there was a lot of kneeling which for me as a child would have thrown me off-- I would have been figuring out when to do what and hoping I didn't screw up, so I'd be struck by lightening. Attending Stations on Friday, something clicked. I was going along with the assistance of one of the teachers, repeating the prayers, kneeling when I was supposed to, singing when I was supposed to... and for the first 3 stations, I was trying to figure things out. For the next 3 stations, I was mentally bemoaning all the kneeling-- my back hurt and my knees felt wobbly. For the next 3 stations, I got really comfortable with the prayers and the motions of the stations. For the next 3 stations, I was lost in the prayers... And then somewhere around the 10th Station, something in my head clicked. My RCIA director has said, either it's true or it's the biggest hoax. Suddenly, I was filled with the sense that it was not a hoax... people had to have seen this happen. They would have known, even if some crazy people spread the word, how could this rumor persist across the ages. [Go ahead, say I'm delusional... I'll be enjoying heaven someday... you can go be sorry for saying I'm delusional elsewhere.] I was further lost in the rhythm and prayer. So much so I looked over my shoulder and was startled to find that Father was standing about 3 feet from me. I realized I'd lost all sense of where I was until I saw him at the end of Station #14. I watched Father say and participate in the 15th Station of the Cross and felt this bizarre sense of awe at his reverence.
Did I have an awakening? I can't say... though in some of my reading about Lent and the New Evangelization of the Catholic Church, there was an Guide to Spiritual Makeover on the Our Sunday Visitor website, that talked about us needing to be evangelized ourselves in order evangelize others. I think that's what happened... so I needed to share it with you.
My motivation today is simple... how can I complain about the mundane details of being a Mommy, when someone can willingly die on a cross. And not just any someone, but the Word made Flesh, Jesus Christ. So when I feel like bemoaning my chores, I will give it up to God... not just to God but for God.
Amen, I say to you, Amen.
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