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Just recently I went Trick or Treating with my children, It was a long trying and testing night. We went to church, changed into costumes at the park headed out for a few blocks, then got something to eat at a fast food place, visited some relatives and took some pictures. I have children with ages spread out so its interesting to see how each age reacts to Halloween or anything in general. At our last stop we took a picture for Mama and Papa and I had to hold up one of my children so they could all fit in the frame. We went home and it was fun night. Much to my surprise though was the picture I saw the next day with my children in their Halloween costumes. My gut was sticking 5 miles out. Now I will be honest, I have never thought that I was Arnold Schwarzenegger, but I don't consider myself out of shape, till now.
Thats the funny thing with out lives though. we never really see ourselves as we are. We have an imagined view of what we look like and who we are but sometimes its when we hear loose acquaintances talk about how we are we get shocked with the observation. For many years I thought I was an okay guy. I went through life and never thought much about where I was or where I was going. Fact was I was heading 100mph down a dead end street. It wasn't until I crashed and everything fell apart that I actually decided to take stock in who I was, where I was going and how I treated other people.
Self refection is one of the things that I love most about my Christianity. I am catholic and through prayer I find refection. Through my study of Jesus Christ I have not only and example of how to live but a rule to judge my life by. Will I ever be perfect, no. I am a broken soul, with God's grace I can get there. There was a time period where I doubted faith in God. Then I accepted that their might be a God but that I didn't need him. After I looked around, studied, tried that prayer thing and probed with a skeptical eye I came to believe, but I didn't think that I was worthy of God's love.
I sought his council and thought that at the very least I could learn how to be a better person while I was here before I went to hell for all the bad things I had done. It was through this study, learning, trial and error that I found the Catholic Church. Through my faith and peering into the "Catholic thing" I found beauty, acceptance, unconditional love and forgiveness. I know that when some think of the Catholic Church they think of scandal with the priests and young children. That is not the Catholic faith. That was a complete tragedy.
I'll be honest I am glad that it was uncovered. It hurt so many in our faith and so many left for good but it needed to happen so that the priests and others involved could be removed, so that the children could be safe. The Church was not seeing itself for all that it was. Was Catholicism broken? No, people in the Catholic Church were broken. Satan found a cracked door and let himself in. He created doubt in a faith and used that get people to hate God and his Church. I remember when I was young before I became Catholic something similar happened at my Protestant church. This isn't a Catholic problem, it's a human problem. It's a fight over good and evil inside us all. We each have our own weaknesses and if we don't deal with them, if we don't take the time to see ourselves for what we really are then we allow ourselves to be fooled. We allow ourselves to fall. We allow ourselves to run 100mph into a brick wall.
That is why I am thankful to have God in my life. It's why I heed his call to self reflect and surround myself with those that will show concern if I get off track. That's why I attend mass each week to learn and grow. It's why I take part in the sacraments so that I can receive the grace I need to fight off temptation. It's why I go to Confession so that I am forced to reflect and ask for forgiveness of what I have done and do penance. It's when I walk away from God and my faith that I fall, not by being a part of it. I learn to love. I learn to give. I learn to care for the sick, poor, and unappreciated. I learn to love God and love the way God wants, unconditionally holding nothing back with everyone I meet. I am not perfect. I am still a sinner, but I am better than I once was and will continue to improve with God's help.
So if my guts sticks out, okay, I can handle that. A few sit-ups can cure that, but what about my soul? That's whats really important. This body is temporary. My soul is eternal. I invite you pray today and ask God to help you see yourself as you are, in life and in faith. I invite you to let the best life trainer into your life, God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I promise if you listen and heed they won't let you down.
If you are interested in getting to know God, I highly recommend this book: Rediscover Jesus.
Have a blessed week,
Michael
Whisper Behind the Light
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