Who Are We Again?

Every time I sit down at the computer to write, it feels like I am attending to small children as my thoughts and ideas compete, each vying to get my attention. I sit back and consider each one, listening to their pleas. Today the one that makes itself heard AND connects to my soul is the one that talks about Living Out Our Daily Life. Now I ask the other children to just hush a moment so I can focus. 

Before I jump into the daily life part, it is essential to take the long view. Most of us were raised with an IF/THEN mentality, given to us by loving and well-meaning parents, teachers, our culture. IF we do something well, THEN we are praised. IF we screw up, THEN we are punished. Without thinking, we can operate from this mindset: I am what I do. (It's also easy to parent from this place.) 

The problem with that sort of Gospel: we can easily think we are ALL THAT (when we are doing good things), or we live with debilitating shame (when we are stuck in our self-absorbed cycles of sin and addictive behaviors).  

I have learned a much better way to think about life: who we are determines what we do.

Who are we? 

Children of God, an identity we received at our baptism. We, as adults, need to step into that identity, understanding the depths of that reality. Read more about that in this post: The Prodigal God. 

The truth of my authentic, eternal identity as a child of God is something that simmers within, and at times, I find that I have to turn up the heat, reminding myself about the love of God the Father for me. And sometimes, I just need to believe in faith because it's easy to think I don't matter, or that God is not concerned about me, or that my lukewarm choices exclude me from his lavish love. 

One way I combat this negativity is leaning into some of the truths found in The Diary of St. Faustina. Jesus told St. Faustina that the more she would trust him, the more she would receive. He poured out graces according to her trust in him. At first this did not make sense to me. Didn't God just give out graces to all? Why would he pour out MORE graces to someone with complete trust? 

It's a good question to consider, don't you think? 

When we get to heaven, I don't think we will hear the words: "You trusted me too much." With that in mind, take a little leap and go into trustful surrender today. 

So, once I place my trust in Him, I can then think about the daily choices. And lately, I've been thinking about what I watch and listen to. Would Jesus, as me, listen to that song that casually drops the F-bomb? (Even if it has a good beat?) Would Jesus, as me, watch that television series, the one that has just a little casual sex? 

It's kind of insane to think about what I let into my life before I became more intentional. The good news: it's not really giving something up, it's more like understanding who I am inside and giving that room to grow. 

​Enjoy your people, knowing that YOU are His—seen, loved and cherished.
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Jesus, I trust in You!