Just Do It

 

                

  

(Photo credit: Lisa Scribner)

More than a foot and a half of snow has been dumped on our area over the past ten days. (Side note: Google ‘The Great Blizzard of 1978’ to reminisce about the record storm that hit us January 25-27 that year.)  The deep snow is beautiful! It also brings out the best in us: As people work to clear their driveways and sidewalks, it’s not uncommon to see neighbors with snow blowers helping those using shovels. Nobody asks them to, and it would be easy not to; they just do it.

Also, the two photos above show one snowman built by a few kind-hearted teenagers for their shut-in neighbor. Notice that this extraordinary snowman has two faces:  one smiling at the neighbor inside the house, and the other smiling at everyone who passes by. The neighbor didn’t ask them to build it, and the teens could have used the brutally cold weather as an excuse not to. They just did it because they knew it would make her happy – and that made them happy.

Saint Francis de Sales said, “Be who you are, and be that well.” Nike’s slogan is, ‘Just Do It.’ Taken together in light of the life God has given us, these phrases encourage us to cherish our own uniqueness; be and do the best we can; persist in doing what’s good and right; and not let difficulties or obstacles deter us. This persistence is not the same as stubbornly doing whatever we want; rather, it’s doing what God wants. Here are two Biblical examples:

In the story of David and Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17:32-51), Goliath had defied God and was taunting the Israelites. David believed that God would help him defeat Goliath. Disregarding Saul’s protests and his own small stature, David persisted and accomplished what God wanted him to do.  

Also: In the synagogue, Jesus noticed a man with a withered hand (see Mark 3:1-6). The Pharisees watched to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath. “Jesus looked at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart.” He knew it was ‘lawful to do good’ for the man regardless of what day it was. Jesus didn’t let the others’ narrow-mindedness stop Him from doing what was the good and right thing to do; He healed him.

Let’s follow these examples. Let’s persist in doing what’s right and good in any given situation and ignore the voices that try to deter us with excuses. Whatever God puts on our hearts to do -- clear our neighbor’s sidewalk, build a cheery snowman for someone who can’t get outside, or anything else -- let’s just do it, and do it well.

 “Lord, let me see the good I can do, and give me the strength to do it.”

Feel free to share my reflections with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below.  Thanks!

We Have Only Today

“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” ― Stephen Grellet

 All day, every day, we’re faced with hundreds of choices. Many of these seem small and insignificant, yet each choice leads to the next, which leads to the next. Our lives and the lives of the people around us are shaped by the ripple effect of our choices.

 As Christians, we’re called to be deliberate in choosing God’s way of loving and serving our neighbors over our self-serving ways. This isn’t a one-time decision but a choice we make over and over again each day. Remembering this helps us stay tuned in to what He wants, puts us in an ‘other-centered’ frame of mind, and affects everything we think about, say, and do. Even if our efforts go unnoticed or unappreciated, and even though we may never know the results of our good deeds, our task is the same. Loving and serving others is how we bring heaven to earth.

 Sometimes, though, we choose our own way. In our mistaken belief that serving ourselves will make us happy, we do or say things that hurt others. So what do we do after we mess up? How do we get past the guilt of “Why did I do that?” or “Why did I say that?” This is when we turn to God and ask for His forgiveness (and maybe the forgiveness of another person). God loves us and will welcome us back with open arms, just as the father welcomed home his prodigal son (see Luke 15:11-32). Turn back to God, and then start again with the next good choice.

 We have only today. Maybe today will be our last day, and maybe we’ll have thousands more days, but this day will never come again. Let’s remember that each choice leads to another. Let our goal be to look back on our day and see a trail of more goodness and holiness than sin and selfishness. Let’s work to build the kingdom of God here on earth, one loving choice at a time.

 “Show me Your ways, Lord; teach me Your paths.” –Psalm 25:4

 

If you liked reading this or any of my other reflections, feel free to leave a comment, and share the reflection with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below.  Also, I invite you to “follow" my blog. To do this, click on the following link:

  -> https://www.blogger.com/manage-blogs-following.g  Click "Add" and type in my blog URL: intoflame.blogspot.com   Select your preference to either provide your email or follow anonymously and then click "follow." If you have difficulty with any of this, please email me directly. Thanks! 

Planting Seeds

 

(June 2, 2021) You gardeners are optimistic, industrious people! Day after day, even before you see plants  poking through the soil, you water and weed and water and weed, and then you wait with  patient, expectant hope for the plants to grow and mature so you can, finally, harvest what you  have sown. I have great appreciation for the work involved! Imagine someone unfamiliar with  the basics of crops and planting; it would appear strange to them to see you burying seeds. But  you know about the unseen potential of the seeds and how they interact with the soil, water, and sunshine to create plants that will grow and become food. 

“The One Who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed  and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” 

--2 Corinthians: 9-10 

This verse assures us that God, who created all things and makes all things grow, gives us the inspiration and ability to do good works and then adds His power to our deeds to make them more fruitful. Every kind act we do has potential beyond what we see; God’s love and power  multiplies each mundane, everyday task we do when we do it with love. We most likely will never know how God uses and transforms these deeds; yet we trust that He does. That’s why,  as Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “We should do small acts with great love.” 

Don’t dismiss the seemingly insignificant good deeds you do for someone else and the kind  words you offer to others. Just as the gardener knows that his or her tasks are part of a greater  process that will result in a harvest, let’s remember that our efforts to do good and loving  things for others will be magnified by God. Let’s look for ways to love others and let His power bring about even more good from them. 

“Lord, open my eyes to what I can do for others. Let me take every opportunity, both big and  small, to contribute to Your harvest of love.” 

This article is a personal reflection by Gina Bedell © 2021. It and other reflections written by her invite  the reader to ponder a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual  reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other persons who may guide the reader to a deeper faith  and understanding of God’s love and will for their life. 

Pay It Forward

(January 13, 2021) “This is my commandment: Love one another as I love you.” -- John 15:12 This is the epitome of Pay it Forward; Jesus was ahead of His time! 

You’d think He would say, “As I love you, so should you love Me.” But he doesn’t.  He wants us to take the love he gives us and share it with the people around us. 

Isn’t it odd, though, that He chose the strong word ‘commandment?’ Not ‘desire’ or ‘wish’ or ‘suggestion.’ Why? Because it must be done. No exceptions. The most  important thing for us to do in our day is love. Love the people we like, and love  the people who are difficult to like. This might involve acting loving without  feeling loving. That’s OK. Maybe the feeling will come later; maybe not. ‘Just do  it.’ 

It’s easy to love the people who love us; it’s God’s grace working in us when we  love when it’s difficult to love (see Matthew 5:43-48). If we look outside  ourselves, ask the Lord to fill us with His love and ask Him to show us how to  share that love with the people around us, He will keep pouring His love into us until pretty soon all that love spills out onto other people. We can’t keep it for  ourselves – we pay it forward. 

“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to  hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears  to hear the sighs and sorrow of men. That is what love looks like.” -- Augustine of  Hippo 

This article is a personal reflection by Gina Bedell © 2021. It and other reflections written by her invite  the reader to reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional spiritual  reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other persons who may guide the reader to a deeper faith  and understanding of God’s love and will for their life. 

Advent: Are We Looking Ahead or Looking Back?

(December 16, 2020) In churches throughout the world, the season of Advent is marked by the four  weeks leading up to Christmas, the day we celebrate Jesus’ birth. Most people see  it as a time of preparing for Christmas in the way of shopping, baking, and sending  cards, and more religious activities like lighting advent candles and following an  advent calendar. All these actions will culminate in church and family  celebrations December 25. (I feel compelled to state the obvious, that December  25 is the day chosen to celebrate Jesus’ birth. There is no way to know which day  was His actual birthday.) 

The word ‘advent ‘comes from the Latin word ‘adventus,’ which is translated ‘to  come’ and ‘to arrive.’ But if it means ‘arrival,’ then why do we celebrate Advent  before Christmas? And if these four weeks are really meant to be a time of looking  ahead to Christmas, then why are we looking ahead to an event that happened  2,000 years ago? Is preparing for December 25 all that Advent is intended for? 

Absolutely not. In fact, there are three components to Advent, not just one. 

The first, which is the most familiar to believers, is looking back to the historical  event of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and preparing to celebrate it. In this sense, we  look ahead to the day, December 25, when we celebrate a past event. This is not  unlike the plans we make to celebrate our own family’s birthdays and  anniversaries. So, yes, all our shopping and wrapping and baking and all the rest  are appropriate activities to prepare for a celebration – in this case, the  celebration of Christ’s coming to earth as a baby.  

The second component of Advent is looking ahead to the second coming of Christ.  This is understood to be at the final judgment, when each of us will have to  answer for our own conduct and how well we loved our Lord through the people  around us (see Matthew 25:41). John of the Cross (1542-1591) put it succinctly:  “At the end of your life, you will be judged by your love.” And so Advent is a time 

for us to reflect on our own lives, to draw near to God and ask forgiveness for our  sins to prepare for the day when we will be judged. 

The third component of Advent is acknowledging that Christ rose from the dead  and is still alive. If we have faith, we believe that He is already with us; He already dwells in the hearts of believers. As I stated in a previous article, when we pray  The Lord’s Prayer (The Our Father) we ask, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,  on earth as it is in heaven.” We are praying for heaven to come to earth, and  through our loving attitudes and actions we can make that happen. Jesus himself  said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I  do, and will do greater ones than these.” – John 14:12 

And so Advent is a time of looking ahead to celebrate a past event; it’s looking  ahead to a future event; and it’s looking at the present. It’s acknowledging God  With Us (Emmanuel) and seeking to immerse ourselves deeper in His love so that  we may share that love with those around us. 

May God strengthen our faith; may we seek Him and His love within us; and may  we allow Him to guide our thoughts, words and actions. 

This article is a personal reflection by Gina Bedell. It and other reflections written  by her are not intended to replace catechesis. Rather, they invite the reader to  reflect on a given topic and then seek deeper answers through prayer, additional  spiritual reading, and/or consultation with clergy or other persons who may guide  the reader to a deeper faith and understanding of God’s love and will for their life. © 2020, Gina Bedell