Lemon Drops and a Missionary Spirit!
In noticing the emotional eating patterns of my seven year old, i've noticed she lives life to the fullest! My daughter when happy it's lemon drops, popsicles, natural cherry juice, and ice cream with chocolate candy sprinkles; that is the menu of choice! Cookies and milk, frozen yogurt, or a sucker are her entree choices while going through her bad moods. Even though she asks for these things, she rarely consumes them! She has sensitive teeth! So determined after her last dental visit to avoid further anguish on both parties, i have found myself consumed with meal planning around her dental health! It's not fear of the dental bill that has caused this daily preoccupation with sugar free meal planning, it's the thought of her having to go through the pain i've experienced through dental procedures!!!!
Have you ever been so determined to do something that all your concentration, all your thoughts, and waking moments have been consumed with getting this one thing accomplished? Or how about the first time you fell in love! That person is on your mind constantly. You find yourself always talking about that person, giving examples to other people how your beloved thinks this way or how he/she acts? We are so consumed with every facet of our beloved"s lives that we incorporate this person to every facet of our lives, even our conversations with everyone else!
When i think back to when i first met my husband, all i could do was talk about him...my poor friends, no matter what topic came up, he always had something to do with it..."how did the dentist appointment go?" "Okay...ya know...Pablo says he hates going to the dentist..."What stocks have you invested in....i'm not sure what my employer is investing for me...Pablo's stock is up and he's being more conservative with his money..." "Where do you take your dog to the vet?"...."Oh the one just outside of town, but Pablo he can't stand dogs....." etc., etc....
It doesn't matter...Love can lead us to have a one-tracked mind! Love of a person or a project or a mission...if its our passion, it can consume us! How my friends must have suffered in those early years! They probably missed the normal communications we had before i met my husband!
If we look to scripture, in the passage of Luke 1:39-56 Mary sets out to visit and help her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant. Mother Mary was of a missionary spirit! She brought Jesus to Elizabeth by visiting and helping her cousin during a difficult time in her cousins life. Both women of God so in tune with their "yes" to God in their lives could not help but Praise God for His beauty, generosity and love! Both women so humble in their divine praises: Elizabeth in recognizing our Lord within Mary and being so grateful and astonished by Mary's presence in her time of need, "And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43) and Mary with all the eloquence of one so in love with her beloved responds, "My soul magnifies the Lord and rejoices in God my savior,"(Luke 1:47) These two women so "In-Love" with God they couldn't speak of anyone else! Their lives from the beginning of their yes to God, by their yes to life, a motherly life offered to them by God, was a love that consumed them! Their life was spent in humble dedicated service of raising their sons obediently by Gods direction! A motherhood of missionary service!
Mother Mary never lost sight of her humble mission to bring the "Christ" into the world! She also shows us that despite our circumstances we can let our Love for God and His mission, to direct how we can be available to help God in His plan for redemption! Mary by her yes to God made her a young, single mother! She became one with her "Yes" to God and became one with her Savior! By her passion she made her project of Love a gift to the human race! God took care of everything in her life, even the difficulties that came with her "yes" to God! Another example of His ever present Divine Mercy!
What "yes" will i do today that will consume me? Will it be one that will take my mind off of God and Jesus and that will only fill an interior need? Or will i choose constantly to say "yes" to what God is offering me, a life of obedience to His perfect love, by asking what God will have me do for others? Does my yes come from a missionary spirit?
Will my "yes" reflect a love worth dying for as Jesus died for me? Does my yes reflect a forgiving nature, predisposed to generosity of the will and heart? Does my yes allow my soul to "magnify the Lord"?
Jesus, you gave us the gift of your Mother, the first living tabernacle, the first missionary that brought you to the world; please help me to magnify your Divine Mercy as she did, by being humble enough to allow you to live in her! Please give me an open heart for you to live in! It is from the arms of the one called "Blessed among women" where you were cradled and felt human love; please, give me the courage to accept your will for my life and in deep humility give me the ability to cradle your Divine Merciful Love and forgiveness, found in your living witnesses of truth, that you have placed here on earth, in my life today. Jesus, I trust in You!
Words of Our Lord to St. Faustina, disciple of His Divine Mercy: "I perform works of mercy in every soul. The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy. My mercy is confirmed in every work of my hands. He who trusts in My mercy will not perish, for all his affairs are Mine..." Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Notebook II, (second half of Entry 723).
Biblical References come from The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Edition, Catholic Edition, Ignatius Press.
Have you ever been so determined to do something that all your concentration, all your thoughts, and waking moments have been consumed with getting this one thing accomplished? Or how about the first time you fell in love! That person is on your mind constantly. You find yourself always talking about that person, giving examples to other people how your beloved thinks this way or how he/she acts? We are so consumed with every facet of our beloved"s lives that we incorporate this person to every facet of our lives, even our conversations with everyone else!
When i think back to when i first met my husband, all i could do was talk about him...my poor friends, no matter what topic came up, he always had something to do with it..."how did the dentist appointment go?" "Okay...ya know...Pablo says he hates going to the dentist..."What stocks have you invested in....i'm not sure what my employer is investing for me...Pablo's stock is up and he's being more conservative with his money..." "Where do you take your dog to the vet?"...."Oh the one just outside of town, but Pablo he can't stand dogs....." etc., etc....
It doesn't matter...Love can lead us to have a one-tracked mind! Love of a person or a project or a mission...if its our passion, it can consume us! How my friends must have suffered in those early years! They probably missed the normal communications we had before i met my husband!
If we look to scripture, in the passage of Luke 1:39-56 Mary sets out to visit and help her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant. Mother Mary was of a missionary spirit! She brought Jesus to Elizabeth by visiting and helping her cousin during a difficult time in her cousins life. Both women of God so in tune with their "yes" to God in their lives could not help but Praise God for His beauty, generosity and love! Both women so humble in their divine praises: Elizabeth in recognizing our Lord within Mary and being so grateful and astonished by Mary's presence in her time of need, "And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43) and Mary with all the eloquence of one so in love with her beloved responds, "My soul magnifies the Lord and rejoices in God my savior,"(Luke 1:47) These two women so "In-Love" with God they couldn't speak of anyone else! Their lives from the beginning of their yes to God, by their yes to life, a motherly life offered to them by God, was a love that consumed them! Their life was spent in humble dedicated service of raising their sons obediently by Gods direction! A motherhood of missionary service!
Mother Mary never lost sight of her humble mission to bring the "Christ" into the world! She also shows us that despite our circumstances we can let our Love for God and His mission, to direct how we can be available to help God in His plan for redemption! Mary by her yes to God made her a young, single mother! She became one with her "Yes" to God and became one with her Savior! By her passion she made her project of Love a gift to the human race! God took care of everything in her life, even the difficulties that came with her "yes" to God! Another example of His ever present Divine Mercy!
What "yes" will i do today that will consume me? Will it be one that will take my mind off of God and Jesus and that will only fill an interior need? Or will i choose constantly to say "yes" to what God is offering me, a life of obedience to His perfect love, by asking what God will have me do for others? Does my yes come from a missionary spirit?
Will my "yes" reflect a love worth dying for as Jesus died for me? Does my yes reflect a forgiving nature, predisposed to generosity of the will and heart? Does my yes allow my soul to "magnify the Lord"?
Jesus, you gave us the gift of your Mother, the first living tabernacle, the first missionary that brought you to the world; please help me to magnify your Divine Mercy as she did, by being humble enough to allow you to live in her! Please give me an open heart for you to live in! It is from the arms of the one called "Blessed among women" where you were cradled and felt human love; please, give me the courage to accept your will for my life and in deep humility give me the ability to cradle your Divine Merciful Love and forgiveness, found in your living witnesses of truth, that you have placed here on earth, in my life today. Jesus, I trust in You!
Words of Our Lord to St. Faustina, disciple of His Divine Mercy: "I perform works of mercy in every soul. The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy. My mercy is confirmed in every work of my hands. He who trusts in My mercy will not perish, for all his affairs are Mine..." Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Notebook II, (second half of Entry 723).
Biblical References come from The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Edition, Catholic Edition, Ignatius Press.
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