A lot of people would classify me as some sort of Grinch when it comes to Christmas time. I find this a little funny, because Christmas is my all time favorite holiday! I'm just not the biggest fan of Christmas as we as a culture see it.
I will be honest in saying that I hate Christmas Music!! I blame this on my years of working in retail and the restaurant business. When a person spends several months before Christmas listening to the same set of songs on repeat it is a little hard to keep that Christmas spirit. To this day when Christmas music comes on my radio I change the station as quickly as possible.
If you were to walk into my house or even see it from the outside you would notice that there are no Christmas decorations. I don't have lights all over and I definitely have no tree up. Mostly because I think it is pointless to set up decorations for only me to see. Really, the only Christmas decorations that I have are two Christmas Mugs that I drink my cocoa in year round that I received as gifts.
By every way you look I seem like the biggest Christmas Scrooge ever! I am here to say that I am in fact, NOT anti Christmas!
Yes, Christmas music drives me crazy and my house isn't decorated, but I LOVE CHRISTMAS! See, Christmas is where it all began. When I stop and think of Christmas time I don't like to think of a big jolly man in a red suit, a tree that only I will see, or even music that drives me nuts. I like to think about the fact that in a little manger the savior of the world was born. That a woman was blessed beyond measure to be the mommy of the most important person in this world. So yes, my office isn't blaring Christmas music and no my house isn't decorated, but I am so excited for Christmas this year (and every year)!!
I hope that all of you have a very blessed Christmas and are able to reflect a little bit on what this Holiday is all about. I know for me ,it will be a very special one. Not only will I get to think about what this faith has meant in my life, but I will also get to celebrate the very first Christmas with my baby nephew.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Suffering
Have you ever wondered why we suffer? A question that hasn't been far from my heart in the past has been, if God is real why would he let me feel this pain? If God is really there why would I have to suffer like this?
I think at some point in each of our lives we all have to experience some sort of suffering. Suffering is part of our humanity. Maybe our suffering is the death of a loved one, illness, financial struggle, loss of a friend, or maybe you feel like you're alone in this world. At some point you will experience something that may seem just too hard to handle. When that moment comes it is natural to ask ourselves those questions, but something I learned the hard way was that in the midst of asking those questions we also have to seek out the answers.
I have had a few moments in my life that I felt completely out of control. Moments where I wondered why God would let that devastation happen to me. Something I have learned through all of that is that when we suffer we never suffer alone, because Christ suffered first.
A few summers ago I was a Catholic Missionary for the Diocese of Cheyenne with a program called Totus Tuus. Our program for the older youth was focused completely on suffering. Each Sunday I would stand up in front of a group of new kids and I would pour my heart out to them. I would share with them one of these moments of suffering, I would share my shortcomings, and would conclude with the ways in which the Lord led me out of that suffering.
That summer in itself was one of great growth for me. I would have days where I felt this tremendous sadness because getting up to tell those stories each week just kept them fresh in my mind. Getting up and pouring out my heart made me feel so vulnerable, but at the end of the summer I realized that I grew so much as a person.
As I'm sure you know, my favorite musician ever is Matt Maher and one of my favorite songs of his is called "You Were on the Cross". One of the lines that just pierces my heart goes like this"Where we you all that I hoped for, where were you when all that I've dreamed, came crashing down in shambles around me? You were on the cross." I just find so much comfort knowing that in the hardest moments of my life when I feel truly alone, I get the chance to remember that I am not at all alone. See, we have a man who chose to die a horrendous death to show us that we would never suffer alone.
I know that this time of year is full of happy memories, but I imagine that it is also full of heartache remembering some of those moments of suffering each of you have endured. I hope that in those moments you will look to the cross and remember that you do not have to suffer alone.
I think at some point in each of our lives we all have to experience some sort of suffering. Suffering is part of our humanity. Maybe our suffering is the death of a loved one, illness, financial struggle, loss of a friend, or maybe you feel like you're alone in this world. At some point you will experience something that may seem just too hard to handle. When that moment comes it is natural to ask ourselves those questions, but something I learned the hard way was that in the midst of asking those questions we also have to seek out the answers.
I have had a few moments in my life that I felt completely out of control. Moments where I wondered why God would let that devastation happen to me. Something I have learned through all of that is that when we suffer we never suffer alone, because Christ suffered first.
A few summers ago I was a Catholic Missionary for the Diocese of Cheyenne with a program called Totus Tuus. Our program for the older youth was focused completely on suffering. Each Sunday I would stand up in front of a group of new kids and I would pour my heart out to them. I would share with them one of these moments of suffering, I would share my shortcomings, and would conclude with the ways in which the Lord led me out of that suffering.
That summer in itself was one of great growth for me. I would have days where I felt this tremendous sadness because getting up to tell those stories each week just kept them fresh in my mind. Getting up and pouring out my heart made me feel so vulnerable, but at the end of the summer I realized that I grew so much as a person.
As I'm sure you know, my favorite musician ever is Matt Maher and one of my favorite songs of his is called "You Were on the Cross". One of the lines that just pierces my heart goes like this"Where we you all that I hoped for, where were you when all that I've dreamed, came crashing down in shambles around me? You were on the cross." I just find so much comfort knowing that in the hardest moments of my life when I feel truly alone, I get the chance to remember that I am not at all alone. See, we have a man who chose to die a horrendous death to show us that we would never suffer alone.
I know that this time of year is full of happy memories, but I imagine that it is also full of heartache remembering some of those moments of suffering each of you have endured. I hope that in those moments you will look to the cross and remember that you do not have to suffer alone.
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