When the Going Gets Tough

Time for a little self disclosure here on the blog. Maybe it's the time change or the fact that life has been a little hectic lately, but I've been somewhat discouraged the past week or two. Then last night I received an email that was very upsetting to me and I felt like packing up my mouse and taking a breather from web "stuff". I wisely called my favorite emotional consultant, my mother, who talked me down from the ledge and made me giggle, helping me to put the situation in perspective. Then I prayed a bit, for guidance and wisdom, and re-read the words of yesterday's second reading:

Brothers and sisters:
We always pray for you,
that our God may make you worthy of his calling
and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose
and every effort of faith,
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,
and you in him,
in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.

We ask you, brothers and sisters,
with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our assembling with him,
not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed
either by a "spirit," or by an oral statement,
or by a letter allegedly from us
to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.

Now I would never put myself anywhere near on par with the apostles in terms of the tests and attacks they faced along their journeys, but for me there is great strength and comfort in this epistle. We, each of us, belong to a communion of saints who intercede for us every day. Whether you're fed up with changing diapers, or dealing with a co-worker who drives you nuts, or simply trying to run a little web site, we all face trials every day. If you're like me, many days you feel like giving up because your efforts fall so very short of what you aspire to do. At those moments, that's when I need to pause and recall that all of what I do every day, whether it's driving a kid, packing a lunchbox, or working on a web site, is being done to bring glory to God. I may not do those things perfectly, but they are my prayers...my way of using the gifts He's given me. I can't allow my spirit to be shaken by emails or by my own self-doubt. All I can do is give God my best, with pure intentions and a heart filled with love and service.

So today, I'm praying for those of you who, like me, might be feeling a bit discouraged or down. Today is our prayer - all those diapers and that driving and those meals we fix are our gifts to a God who loves us just as we are. Done with love, even if they are not done perfectly, these "little" things can be our gifts to Him.

"You know that our Lord does not look at the greatness or difficulty of our action, but at the love with which you do it. What, then, have you to fear? "
St Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, OCD