2013. Golly, what a year! This year has been packed with trials,
which have given me some serious questions to think about and pray about. This
is a huge reason in why I haven’t blogged in so long. While they were difficult
at the time, they were truly a blessing since they provided me the opportunity
to grow spiritually. I would love to share thirteen of the lessons I learned in
2013 from the best guy ever, God! They are as follows:
1 1) Seek holiness, NOT perfection
-We are called to be saints, but that does not translate
into perfection. Saints were not perfect, but they strived for holiness. St.
Nicholas (the actual saint, not the commercial version) was said to have
punched someone. That was not the perfect thing to do, but St. Nicholas
continued to strive for holiness and eventually became a saint! A priest once
explained that a saint is a sinner who with the grace of God, did not give up. We
can become saints, but in order to do that we must seek holiness not
perfection. I used to think they were similar, until I realized I had become
making a false idol out of the concept of perfection. I focused so hard on
being perfect that I begun taking time away from my prayer time to further my
quest to be perfect, which was ONE OF MY WORST IDEAS EVER. Being called to be a
saint does not entail perfection, as St. Nicholas can attest to. When we focus
on seeking holiness rather than perfection we are able to be who we are called
to be.
2) Prayer is essential
-St. Padre Pio once said, “Prayer is the oxygen of the soul”,
and I couldn’t agree more. We should always turn to prayer, not only when we
need something, but in gratitude as well. When we are making a decision,
especially really important ones, why wouldn’t we consult God? He knows
everything, and He has the best plan! Why wouldn’t we want to talk to Him, when
He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die for our sins? Prayer is a
way we communicate with God, and is thus essential in our lives.
3) Love is painful
-Love is not meant to be easy, and it does hurt sometimes.
One thing that makes love so hard is that we are called to love despite imperfections.
This can cause pain because sometimes our imperfections hurt a relationship.
Love is about allowing vulnerability to pain. It is about being patient and
loving a person through their trials, by trying to see the person through God’s
eyes, as His beloved child. Love is
about sacrifice, and we cannot possibly make a bigger sacrifice than the one
already made for us by Jesus Christ. As Jesus said to His disciples,”No one has
greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John
15:11).
4) Forgiveness is liberating
This was a very powerful lesson for me this year. I was
blessed to be on the receiving end, as well as with the grace of God able to
forgive someone else. Receiving it was amazing, and giving it was liberating.
When we seek forgiveness and when we seek to forgive, we are able to love more
deeply, as we are called to do.
5) God’s plan is the best plan
-I am totally that person who thinks she knows the answer
before all the information is given and then is completely wrong. This happened
to me quite a bit this year. It is a delicate balance, knowing when to wait and
when to take action. Sometimes this balance gets upset because we either we
wait too long or not long enough. In some mysteriously awesome way, this is all
okay because God knows everything that is going happen, and has a plan for each
and every one of us. As it is written in the Book of Jeremiah, "For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans
for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope.”(Jeremiah
29:11). God’s plan is the best, and is
way better than the one we could possibly imagine for ourselves. It is hard to
see sometimes, since I think I have it all figured out sometimes. I end up not
having it all figured out, but that is okay. God’s plan is best, always has
been and always will be. The best thing to do is to accept His plan, and pray
for the guidance and grace to follow it.
6) Letting go is the way to go
-Back to blogging means back to metaphors so here we go!
Imagine every relationship we have in life as a stone we carry. Each one adds
its own weight, and there gets to be a point where we cannot carry anymore. Some
are heavier than others for whatever reason, and others we have held on for so
long that we are reluctant to put the down, even if it is time to let go. Friendships don’t always last, and that’s
okay. There is a time and place for everything, and it is important to accept
that may not be now and here. So let it go, it will all be okay and work out
the way it is meant to someday.
7) Discernment involves action
-I read an awesome article (which you can read here) about
discernment. Discernment involves action. It is like those creepy dolls within
dolls (Oh hey I’m changing it up with a simile!). Discernment within discernment within
discernment within discernment within- STOP IT. Yes pray before you take
action, always! Don’t, however, neglect action. If you’re discerning about
someone being a future spouse for example, pray about it but then take action.
Then keep praying about it!
(See? CREEPY)
8) The presence of a past does not translate
into an absence of a future
-The past already happened, you can’t change it. The future
is God’s to decide, so don’t worry about it. What has happened does not have to
control what will happen. God has so got this, so live for today. Take each day
one at a time, since there is not a more important time than the present. I
tend to get WAY ahead of myself, and before I know it I am making plans for my
future without consulting God. When I make plans, I impose limits based on what
has happened to me previously. This is not the right thing to do, since with
God anything is possible. Therefore, my self-created limits are meaningless. My
future is not limited because of my past, because I have an awesome and loving
God who is limitless and can make all things possible.
9) In order to love, start with loving
God
-If you love someone, you treat their loved ones with love
and respect. If we strive to love God, then we must love others because they
are beloved children of God. We are also children of God, which I think is easy
to forget. Due to this, we must also love ourselves, which sometimes seems impossible.
It will never be easy, but if we strive to love God, who is love, then love
will come. We just have to trust Him, and focus on loving Him. When we do,
everything else falls into place.
10) Sin shapes us, but does not define
us
-We are all sinners, but we are not made for sin. Sin broke
us, and the love of Jesus Christ saved us. We were made for love. Often, these
sins shape our future decisions, about a variety of factors such as lifestyle. They do not define us because we have so much
more we can give with the grace of God. Sin is enticing, and we all get snared
in its trap, but we can be free. When we repent, we are made free from our
sins. We will all continue to fall into sin at times, but when we strive to love
rather than to sin, we will be free to be who we are called to be, loving
children of God.
11) Vocations are beautiful
-I have been so blessed to watch three of my friends embrace
vocation, and take giant leaps of faith in their discernment. One of my friends
has entered the seminary, where he is discerning the priesthood. He has always
been joyful and faithful, but he seems to have grown in both areas since he started
seminary. It is beautiful to watch him grow in faith and increase in joy. I was
also blessed to watch two of my friends become engaged to each other. They mean
the world to me, and are both role models in faith. There is something really
beautiful about the vocation of marriage, where two souls come together to love
and serve as one. I cannot quite find the right words to describe it, but it
brings me such a joy to see my friends taking these leaps in their vocations.
They are not at their vocations yet, as a priest and as married, but they all
have taken a tremendous leap of faith in their discernment of their vocations,
which is truly beautiful and inspiring to see.
12) If you want to be good, fill
yourself with good
-There is a priest I know who loves to talk about the
importance of filling ourselves with good and holy things. We should not only avoid
filling ourselves with bad, but we should also make the effort to fill
ourselves with good. When we don’t fill ourselves with good, and just empty
ourselves of bad, we are not growing spiritually. We are neutral and empty.
Thus, Christian study is important! It is important to learn about the faith,
and to fill ourselves with good, such as further knowledge of Scriptures.
13) Life is a gift
-God is so amazing, to give us life. It is a true gift from
God, but our lives are also meant to be given. They are meant to be given to
God. When we live our lives as a gift for God, they also become an even greater
gift from God. It is an amazing concept, and the gift of life is the best we
can ever receive.
So there you have it. 13 lessons from 2013, that through God's grace I was given the opportunity to learn.
Keep learning!
Your Sister In Christ,
Dani
P.S. I am back to blogging on a regular basis :)
