Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Remaining in the Present

A daredevil in the making. Our grandson Colton likes everything faster, higher, and whatever verb describes a thrill seeker. And he is only a 2 ¾  year old! Watching him being thrown back and forth in the ocean between his Daddy and his Papa this past Sunday sent my mind to future broken legs, fractured collarbones. Here is a pic I captured as Whitney, Savannah and I sat on shore:


This tossing back and forth went on at least 10 more throws! The tendency is to begin worrying about how to handle any harm this active little boy may see in the future. Worst case scenarios form cautionary thoughts on how to prepare him (and the impact on Mommy, Daddy, Mimi and Papa) to be a safer daredevil, so to speak. Personally, it is overwhelming to think of our little bubba getting injured. But if I believe what Jesus tells us in Scripture and in the Volumes (and I do!), I will stay focused on the present. I will take each day as it comes, bumps on the head and all. I will have faith the Lord is protecting Colton at all times. Where I need a little help is in graces to bear when injuries may occur!

Todays Gospel (John 16:12-15) tells us sometimes we need to stay away from worrying about the future, remaining in the present:

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”

In Volume One, Anne a lay apostle describes how too much thinking can turn into using your own will instead of God's:

"I have been dutifully asking God to send me His gifts, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday, which is perhaps the reason for all of this focus on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I turned all of this around in my head as I prayed and I began to get myself confused. Finally, I prayed, 'God, send me whatever gifts You choose to send me. My only prayer to You is that I not interfere with Your will because of my flaws. Beyond that, I don’t care what You do, so long as I am serving You.' It can get confusing because you don’t want to err in humility or desire great lofty gifts. On the other hand, you don’t want to have a weak will and cloak it in false humility. I am not worthy, therefore keep your gifts so it doesn’t cost me anything. There is also such a thing as thinking too much about it all, as though it were up to you and as though it were dependent on your own will. That’s where I was tumbling around when I finally said, 'Enough. I don’t care what happens and I leave it all to You.' He responded, 'Your prayer pleases Me. It is the evidence that you are ready for the gifts I intend to bestow on you.'"

Lay apostles, we can choose to continue strengthening our character and abilities, or throw in the towel. We can choose to live in the present or worry about the "what ifs." Life can be overwhelming at times, but we can't let it control us. If we stay focused on Christ, and doing the best we can with our situations, we can't fail.

Thank you, Lord, for the grace of living life for today and especially for patience with myself when worry peaks out it's ugly head!

God bless,
Bonnie

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