2020 Thoughts
One thing I actually want to change in 2020 is writing more frequently. I'm not really one for New Year's resolutions because if we're being technical, every day starts a new year depending on how you look at it. That's not really the point of this, though. To begin, I want to let you in on a little secret...I really struggle to keep my mind in check. Not super surprising given my mental health challenges and now my pregnancy hormones, but yeah my mind is a major challenge. Unfortunately, I think that's something many of you can relate to. You know something, but your mind makes you doubt yourself and it becomes a never ending battle. This is especially obvious when it comes to self image and betterment.
The goal of everyone, whether they know it or not, is to be the best version of themselves. This translates into becoming a saint and getting to Heaven with Jesus. When we get to the Big House, we are the most perfect version of ourselves. And the only humans in Heaven are saints, ergo our goal is to be saints. This is a lifelong task, one that I personally struggle with daily. I am a sinner. But I'm trying to be a saint, and that's what matters.
Call it a New Year's thought, or maybe an Epiphany since we just celebrated that, but I was pondering how it seems that we have been very caught up in the culture of offensiveness. No matter what anyone says or does, somebody somewhere will be offended. Heck, you sneeze in the wrong direction and you'll get accused of racism if you aren't careful. Actually, though, it's pretty natural to care about what other people think about what you say or do. That in and of itself isn't actually bad, though.
I'm not saying that you should take everyone's opinion as gospel, or that you need to seek approval of the masses. That's not it at all. But that desire to be given a thumbs up comes from our innate desire to be accepted by our Heavenly Father. Now, God loves us no matter what, and He saved us by His grace, but we also have to do our part by living our lives for Him. We have to be the best versions of ourselves.
How do we do that?
I'm no expert on self improvement, but I do know that those we seek approval from, the people we look to, affect us more than we want to admit. When you're hoping to get everyone around you to like you or you take all of their opinions into account, you're going to get lost. It's just too much. Obviously, the only opinion of you that matters is God's. But it is often difficult to discern exactly what He would say to us. Prayer, Scripture, and the Sacraments are really good places to help figure it out, but I also think that the Lord places specific people in our lives to be His voice to us. Go through the individuals in your life. Think about which of them you seek approval from and why. Then dig deeper. Is it because of their status? Is it because they're all you've ever been surrounded by? Is it because they seem to have their life figured out? Is it because they have a joy and peace that you want? Is it because you see Christ in them?
I only had a handful of people come to mind when I did this inventory. Jordan and my parents are included, along with a trusted priest, and a friend. Ideally, your spouse should be a given because it is what they vowed to you and to God; they promised to help get you to Heaven. Jordan is absolutely helping me become a saint, so what he has to say about how I live is very important to me. My parents have always been voices of reason and wisdom in my life, and I owe much of my faith formation to them. The other members of this group came along later in my life, but it is apparent that God put them there for a reason. None of them are perfect, but they are all open to being vessels of the Holy Spirit. Because of that, God speaks to me through them. The Lord doesn't want us to be alone on our journey toward Him; He placed people in your life to walk with you to Heaven!
When the individuals you look to for approval and formation are people whom are sharing the walk to Heaven, nobody else's opinions about you really matter. Of course someone will get offended by you, but that comes with the territory. Jesus offended a lot of people. My challenge to you is to live a life that is offensive, the way the saints did. And the people who are helping you live up to that saintly standard? Keep them close.
The goal of everyone, whether they know it or not, is to be the best version of themselves. This translates into becoming a saint and getting to Heaven with Jesus. When we get to the Big House, we are the most perfect version of ourselves. And the only humans in Heaven are saints, ergo our goal is to be saints. This is a lifelong task, one that I personally struggle with daily. I am a sinner. But I'm trying to be a saint, and that's what matters.
Call it a New Year's thought, or maybe an Epiphany since we just celebrated that, but I was pondering how it seems that we have been very caught up in the culture of offensiveness. No matter what anyone says or does, somebody somewhere will be offended. Heck, you sneeze in the wrong direction and you'll get accused of racism if you aren't careful. Actually, though, it's pretty natural to care about what other people think about what you say or do. That in and of itself isn't actually bad, though.
I'm not saying that you should take everyone's opinion as gospel, or that you need to seek approval of the masses. That's not it at all. But that desire to be given a thumbs up comes from our innate desire to be accepted by our Heavenly Father. Now, God loves us no matter what, and He saved us by His grace, but we also have to do our part by living our lives for Him. We have to be the best versions of ourselves.
How do we do that?
I'm no expert on self improvement, but I do know that those we seek approval from, the people we look to, affect us more than we want to admit. When you're hoping to get everyone around you to like you or you take all of their opinions into account, you're going to get lost. It's just too much. Obviously, the only opinion of you that matters is God's. But it is often difficult to discern exactly what He would say to us. Prayer, Scripture, and the Sacraments are really good places to help figure it out, but I also think that the Lord places specific people in our lives to be His voice to us. Go through the individuals in your life. Think about which of them you seek approval from and why. Then dig deeper. Is it because of their status? Is it because they're all you've ever been surrounded by? Is it because they seem to have their life figured out? Is it because they have a joy and peace that you want? Is it because you see Christ in them?
I only had a handful of people come to mind when I did this inventory. Jordan and my parents are included, along with a trusted priest, and a friend. Ideally, your spouse should be a given because it is what they vowed to you and to God; they promised to help get you to Heaven. Jordan is absolutely helping me become a saint, so what he has to say about how I live is very important to me. My parents have always been voices of reason and wisdom in my life, and I owe much of my faith formation to them. The other members of this group came along later in my life, but it is apparent that God put them there for a reason. None of them are perfect, but they are all open to being vessels of the Holy Spirit. Because of that, God speaks to me through them. The Lord doesn't want us to be alone on our journey toward Him; He placed people in your life to walk with you to Heaven!
When the individuals you look to for approval and formation are people whom are sharing the walk to Heaven, nobody else's opinions about you really matter. Of course someone will get offended by you, but that comes with the territory. Jesus offended a lot of people. My challenge to you is to live a life that is offensive, the way the saints did. And the people who are helping you live up to that saintly standard? Keep them close.
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