Trust in the Lord...

Lord, give me the heart of a child and the courage to follow it.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus said to His disciples, "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

My son and I were talking about what this means to be like a little child. I said that even as adults, we're called to be like little children. He turned to me with a puzzled look, so I asked him if he ever lies in bed at night worrying about how dad and mom are going to pay the bills or if he will have food to eat when he wakes up. He looked at me like I was crazy. "No. Why would I do that?" he bellowed.

"So that means you trust your parents to take care of you without wondering, right?"

"Yes, mom," he answered, rolling his eyes.

"Well, we're supposed to have this same child-like trust in our Heavenly Father with all our needs and desires. It's not always easy, but there's so much freedom in that trust."

Through the gift of faith, we are able to trust in Jesus and know that it is only in Him, with Him and through Him that we have anything or accomplish anything in life. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

There are many who find it difficult to trust in other people, let alone trust in a God whom they cannot see.

As we go downtown each week to feed lunch to our homeless/jobless brothers and sisters, we ask our Lord to help us be a bridge to Him and from Him for those who have no one to trust in. We bring food for their physical hunger, though our hope is that they receive the love of Christ to fill their spiritual hunger.

Through the stories of some of the "regulars" I have been privileged to befriend, I have also learned how to detach myself from earthly things and trust more deeply in God.

There is a beautiful group of women who contribute periodically to this lunch mission on Saturdays. They give of their time, talents and treasures to provide nutritious lunches, prepared with great love. I leave you with some words that one of them shared this with me today.

Mother Theresa said “ It is harder to feed the hunger for love - than the hunger for bread” I’m helping by feeding with bread – but on Saturday your presence will be feeding their hunger for love. Together I pray that we bring peace to those we help and bring glory to His name. -Angela

Amen!

God's love is unconditional

I know I just wrote, but I had to share a message I heard recently.
While working with the poor and suffering, I am always touched by how God allows me to see His face in them and love unconditionally.
I am daily trying to live out this unconditional love within the walls of my own home - the biggest challenge and gift of all!

The other night I listened to a local priest, Fr. Joachim, speak about the dynamics of our relationship with God/Jesus Christ.
He was speaking about how much God loves us and that His immense love never changes. We can't do anything to earn more love or lessen the Father's love for us because God is Pure Love.

Along these lines, Father Joachim shared a powerful quote from Father Richard Rohr, OFM - "God doesn't love us if we change; He loves us so we can change."

Close your eyes and allow those Spirit-filled words settle in your heart.

In our world where so many base their identity on their accomplishments or the latest trends, these words really touched me.

Are we teaching our children that their identity comes from God? As Christians are we sharing this message of unconditional love with our brothers and sisters - especially those who are suffering?

Just some food for thought to chew on...