Trust
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In the simple and profound tale “Hope for the Flowers,” a caterpillar named Yellow learns an important lesson from a gray-haired caterpillar. In order to become a butterfly, Yellow learns that he must want to fly so much that he is willing to give up being a caterpillar.
It may look as if you will die, but really you will live on. Life is changed, not taken away. Like the fig tree in Luke 13, each one of us is always in need of spiritual pruning. And unless we allow God to cut out the dead parts of our trees, we will not experience new growth or know new life.
Unless we are willing to trust God completely, we will forever remain mere caterpillars. “Once you are a butterfly, you can really love—the kind of love that makes new life. It’s better than all the hugging caterpillars will do.”
I am yours, Lord, all of me.
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A child of the King
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I sat behind the fifth-grade class and smiled as the three tiny readers bowed at the altar and proceeded to the lectern. The first grade class was “in charge” of Mass.
How fitting to hear the Word of God proclaimed by first graders! They are barely able to read, and yet appropriately prepared to cy out “Abba” as children of God! When I need to be reminded that I, too, am a child of God, an heir of the King of Kings, I attend my children’s school Mass.
It is amidst the giggles and the squirmy participants that my heart remembers how to call God “Abba.” As grownups, somewhere along the way we learn how to act dignified, how to be proper and serious. But God does not need to know how respectable and polite we can be. God wants us to know that we are His children, and He is our “Abba.”
Thank you, Abba, Father, that I am your daughter.
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Security
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Many years ago, our family traveled to Lakey, Texas, to spend a weekend with good friends at their house overlooking the Frio River.
On Saturday afternoon, our two families loaded kids and inner tubs into our vehicles and drove to a spot where we began our “tubing” trek down the river.
The water was freezing, just as the river’s name warned us. But, what I remember the most from that adventure was the impressive exhibition of gorgeous, venerable trees along the bank. Planted near water—a real commodity in southwest Texas—the trees displayed beautiful, graceful branches full of leaves.
Like the tree in Psalm 1, these Texas trees embodied what I want to be—planted firmly in my faith, secure in the knowledge that I am fed daily by the Living Water of my Creator.
Light a fire of faith in my heart, Lord.
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God’s sense of fairness
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When the inevitable cry comes from the mouth of one of my children, “That’s not fair!” my response is always the same: “Fair does not mean equal.”
I do strive to be fair in my parenting. But this, by definition, makes things unequal between my four children. My daughter loves basketball, but I won’t enroll my son in a team just to keep it “equal.” My son loves the guitar. But that doesn’t mean I must sign up his sister for guitar lessons as well, to keep it equal.
In the same way, I expect behavior and a sense of responsibility to reflect who my children are as individuals. They differ in age, gifts and maturity.
This is, after all, how God deals with us. God sees and respects each person’s individuality and unique identity. And as Luke explains, “…still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more” (Lk. 12:39-48).
Thank you, God, for loving me as a unique individual.
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How can I possibly do everything that needs to be done?
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When I first saw the wheat fields that my friend Jim and his family farms every year, I was astonished at the immensity of such an enterprise. When wheat is ready for harvest, Jim explained, the window of opportunity is small. So, the task must be performed efficiently and quickly. It sounded exactly like Jesus’ description in Luke: “The harvest is rich but the workers are few.”
“How can you do it?” I asked dumbly. “We work together,” Jim said, stating the obvious. “Everyone comes out, including our neighbors. It’s the only way it can be done.”
As St. Paul’s constant and often “only companion,” St. Luke understood well the importance of working together. Luke was with Paul two missionary journeys. He was also with him during Paul’s first and second imprisonment. Until St. Paul’s martyrdom in 67, Luke never left his side.
Lord, grant me the humility to ask for help when I need it.
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Why do I feel paralyzed?
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For some, it is the thought of what could go wrong. For others, it is the awareness of past injustices or injuries that paralyzes them.
Played by Sean Connery, the title character in the movie “Finding Forrester” is an award-winning writer so overtaken by fear that he can’t leave his own apartment. This overpowering fear even convinced Forrester that he didn’t need people or relationships in his life. But an unlikely friendship with a talented young man, and the young man’s faith and hope in Forrester as his mentor, succeeded in luring the writer out of his hibernation and into life.
Fears, no matter how small, keep us from living. What personal fear do I need to acknowledge in my life? To whom can I entrust this knowledge?
Jesus tells us: “Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.”
Show me, Holy Spirit, what fear is keeping me from trusting you.
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Are angels real?
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When things that go bump in the night prevent her from sleeping, my daughter Michelle’s favorite image is that of an angel standing by her bed with his large, protective wing unfolded, like a blanket, over her.
As we grow older, it’s harder to conceive of heavenly beings standing guard over us. Do angels have wings? Does a bell really ring when they get new wings, as in "It’s a Wonderful Life"? Or do they act more like Della Reese’s Tess or Roma Downey’s Monica in TV’s "Touched by an Angel"?
In reality, the details don’t matter. Psalm 91 assures us that "to his angels [God] has given command about you, [to] guard you in all your ways." Whether we see them or not, whether we recognize them when we meet them or not, God’s angels walk with us. They are God’s agents in this world.
Help me to remember that I am never alone, Lord.
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What do you see: godisnowhere?
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It was a stunning revelation. The presenter wrote on the board the following letters: "godisnowhere," and then said, "What do you see?" My first reading, I have to admit, was "God is nowhere." Until I took a second look. There, hidden in the same letters, was also the proclamation: "God is now here!"
How we read it, how we interpreted what we saw, was strictly a personal choice. Everything in our life is like that. We can see God in the events and the people that surround us. Or we can be like the nine lepers whom Jesus cured. They went on about their business and never proclaimed the presence of God in their lives.
It's not so much that we are not thankful, but rather that we don't stop to see. We don't take time to recognize and name the source of all goodness in our life.
God is here! May we sing for joy!