The darkness of the night slowly departs. Another day, another hour, and another moment to intentionally live.
Morning light, heavy eyes and tired arms with a soul not yet awake.
Every morning, my little heart is met with light. The same light He created ages, and what can seem like, worlds ago. Yes, my little heart is greeted each morning with the chance and opportunity to say Here I am Lord, I am listening, but instead it's usually met with grumble, grumble, sigh, toss and a just five more minutes, please.
Thomas A. Kempis and I have become friends this Lenten season. A friendship my heart and soul are pretty thankful for! After reading this bit of his wisdom, I was sure that my new friend, Mr. Kempis, was looking me straight in the face with one of those faces.
Me, with my negligence and constant wasting of time, often forgetting that all these little daily fiats are the very building blocks of the same virtues my soul so desperately desires.
Morning light? Grumble. Daily dishes? sooo tired... Breaking up an argument here and cleaning up an accident there?...Bah! Again? Laundry? All the Grumble. Grumble. Grumble.
I'm good at grumbling my way through a day. Good at being tired with life before the sun hits my sleepy eyes. Ha! And if we're being honest, I'm so good at it that my grumbling for the next day of life often can start the moment I lay my head down on my pillow the night before! I'm that good, people!
And yet, as much as my failings are true, His goodness is even truer!
Phew!!
There's no pausing life. It continues with oodles upon oodles of similar moments and choices and opportunities to say YES, Lord, show me! I am ready to do Your Will! Form me! Change me! Let your light shine through me so that others may know your goodness!
But then there's me and my grumbles. Again.
One of the reasons I love the saints and holy men and women - past and present - is because when I'm at my worst, grumbling my way through life, there they are saying, been there, done that, let me pray for you as only someone who understands can! or Hey, let me show you what I thought and did that changed my every little breath into love of Him!
It's a beautiful thing to not have to go it alone. It's an incredible thing to not have to figure it all out by ourselves. He knew. He knew we would need help and so He sent us these holy men and women to share their hearts with us. To teach us. To show us the rugged paths that their feet have touched. The same path that led them straight back into His arms.
It's such a good thing!
Little by little, Lent is honing my heart into something more. I fail, I grumble, but I keep on keeping on in my own personal little dessert. Just as He did. One step at a time. One temptation at a time. Taking my friends with me and a whole lot of JESUS.
So let's Lent on, my friends, one trial at a time! Let's continue upward and onward in the face of adversity, offering our little fiats when we can, seeking wisdom from those who have walked before us and those around us that are so good at sharing His Goodness already! But mostly, let's allow Our Almighty to wrap us in His Morning Light again and again and again and Again, because that's how virtues for love of Him are formed!
It's a beautiful thing to not have to go it alone. It's an incredible thing to not have to figure it all out by ourselves. He knew. He knew we would need help and so He sent us these holy men and women to share their hearts with us. To teach us. To show us the rugged paths that their feet have touched. The same path that led them straight back into His arms.
It's such a good thing!
Little by little, Lent is honing my heart into something more. I fail, I grumble, but I keep on keeping on in my own personal little dessert. Just as He did. One step at a time. One temptation at a time. Taking my friends with me and a whole lot of JESUS.
"Adversity is the best test of virtue. The occasions of sin do not weaken anyone; on the contrary, they show that person's true worth."
- Thomas A. Kempis
So let's Lent on, my friends, one trial at a time! Let's continue upward and onward in the face of adversity, offering our little fiats when we can, seeking wisdom from those who have walked before us and those around us that are so good at sharing His Goodness already! But mostly, let's allow Our Almighty to wrap us in His Morning Light again and again and again and Again, because that's how virtues for love of Him are formed!
This is really beautiful, Amanda. I so often think that building virtue is some huge thing that I'll undertake one day, you know, when I have time. But it is choosing the best in each tiny situtation of the day. Thanks for the reminder.
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