One of the hardest things for us to do is accept that God’s will may be different from what we want. The whole reason that we want something is because we think it is what is best for us- and it is so much easier to see in someone else’s life that maybe there is something better for them. It is funny how we grow up but there are some aspects of being a human being that are not that different when we are adults than when we are children. And just like we needed our parents to say “no” to us- for our health or overall wellbeing they would restrict sweets, or make us go to bed on time- God does the same.
I was speaking today with a lovely Christian woman who I am just getting to know. She began telling me about a man she had started dating recently- who she had developed strong feelings for. Her concern was that his ex-girlfriend seemed to be circling and trying to win him back. My suggestion to her was to pray about it, but not to worry. If this man is meant to be her boyfriend, and she honors God in her behavior towards him, then it will come to pass. If it doesn’t happen, it is because there is something better for her. Easy to say, when my heart is not the one on the line.
My hope is that when I have something in my life that I have my heart set on, that I will also have a friend who will remind me to keep my eyes fixed on God- and all the rest will fall into place. At the end of the day, all we need is Him- and all we really have is Him. We aren’t going to leave this world with any of our stuff- nor will we leave with any other people- it will just be us and Jesus, and we have an opportunity to practice relying on Him alone whenever we accept His will over our own. When we really start viewing our lives, and our stuff and relationships- and everything- as really belonging to God, it changes how we behave towards all of it.
My prayer is that this Christmas we all renew our efforts to give our whole lives to God- He is way better equipped to deal with it than we are anyway. We can then put our full effort into living in a way that is honoring to Him. If you wonder what that looks like, the resources to start with are the Bible, the Catechism of the Catholic Church – and your daily mass! With those three things we all have pretty much all the information we will ever need to live in this world and prepare for the next!
My Catholic Journey 