Christ speaks

I wrote this 'blog' the first or second week I was in New Zealand. Tally and I were still a bit in disarray, a bit anxious, and just trying to get a grip on our new surroundings. We really didn't know what was in store for us, just a lot of uncertainty at that point. Fast forward 10 months and I am amazed at something as simple as keeping good faith in God can do for you. I'm not one who'll push my faith straight in your face, but I cannot ignore the fact that Christ is deeply rooted in my heart and is at work in my life, simply because I have asked him for help and I'd like to think that I do a decent job of treating others as they would like to be treated. 

What does being closer to Christ mean to you?

For awhile for me it meant going to church every weekend and holy day and making sure I fulfilled my sacramental duties like confirmation and receiving eucharist.

Then my mindset changed to me wanting to do every volunteer event I could possibly do in my spare time -- that would get me closer to God's Will.

This morning after reading my daily dose of 'In Coversation with God' I came to full realization (I think I was partially there before) that God makes it much, much easier for us to be closer to Him without drastically changing our plans for the day.  Here's the bit of my reading that hit it home for me:

Love for God does not consist in sensible feelings, although these too may be given to us by Our Lord so as to help us to be more generous.  It consists essentially in the full identification of our will with that of God. That is why we should ask ourselves frequently:  Am I doing what I ought to be doing at this moment?  Do I offer my activity to God on starting it and during its accomplishment? Do I rectify my intention when vanity and the thought of 'what people will say' tend to intervene? Do I try to do my work with human perfection? Am I a constant source of joy for those who live or work with me? Does my daily presence among them draw them closer to God?

I included much more of passage than needed for my point, because it's great food for thought and flows nicely.  However, the last two questions are my focal point and are our simplest 'asks' for us to be closer to God. I've realized that while my job leaves me little to no spare time to do formal volunteer work, I can, in the meantime, align my daily purpose with God by doing what I need to do to answer yes to those two questions above. I view this as simple as being respectful to everyone I meet throughout the day, being generous to someone less fortunate who I encounter (or even someone who is in a less advantageous situation at the time than me), being yourself which should mean naturally displaying your best inner qualities, and bringing laughter and enjoyment to those around you.

While it would be great to check the box on all those things I mentioned above like going to church and using each spare hour I have for volunteering, most of us unfortunately don't currently have our lives aligned to do those things daily or multiple times per week.  Although regularly attending church service and volunteering is something we can refine our lives to make possible, the beauty of God's plan for us is to have the opportunity to be kind, respectful, generous, and enjoyable every waking day we have.

So in the meantime during our busy schedules, let's use these two simple questions to guide us to a more enjoyable day that will leave God smiling.