By Sister Mary Scholastica, O.C.D.
The realization that all things change is a fact of life that often continues to surprise us. We get comfortable, become accustomed to the concentric circles moving around us, perceive our lives to be stable and simply forget that life can change in a moment. Then we find ourselves experiencing an “event” or “something” that shifts our lived reality into a place of uncertainty because “something” has changed, whatever that “something” may be (health status, relationships, death, world events, loss of job, family circumstances, etc.).
This kind of quicksand (though it’s not always quick) can move us into a state of unsettledness, anxiety, fear, a feeling of being overwhelmed, a feeling of not being able to deal with life. How many of us feel this way or have felt this way? I think we all can raise our hands here. Are we meant to constantly move in and out of security and lack of safety?
The simple answer is no.
For those who do not believe in God, I can’t help but wonder how they persevere through life. Without God, struggles, suffering, heartache, loss…none of these make any sense. But with God, if we but lift our eyes to Him and feel His gaze of love penetrating our souls, our innermost being, even though we continue to not “understand”, we do “understand”.
That’s the key point. With God.
Can you imagine that God loves us so much, He dwells within us, walks besides us, comes to us in the Most Blessed Sacrament and waits patiently for us to simply turn to Him, to trust Him just enough to let Him in. That’s all He needs. That’s our God.
Can we explain it completely? No. It’s a mystery. When you think about it…we know ourselves better than anyone else knows us. And when you think about it, there are so many depths within us that we have yet to tap into. We’re a mystery unto ourselves. And we’re finite beings. Imagine God!
With God. The only way to “persevere through life” is to hang on tightly to Jesus. “Persevering” means we fall and get back up repeatedly. Moving “through” something means we put one step in front of the other and get from point A to point B regardless of what comes our way between meeting points. And “life” means that we are in this world for a reason and called to be a bright shining light because as we “persevere through”, it changes us. The experience transforms us and somehow, sometimes even unbeknownst to us, we become a source of blessing, strength, light and life for others.
So, persevere through life. It’s a beautiful journey.
“Wherever His glance falls He turns all things into beauty.” – St. John of the Cross
