Nothing Is Impossible for God

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God uses the humble to make the impossible happen. Consider the Annunciation, which is celebrated on March 25. An unmarried girl was asked to become the Mother of God. Despite her questions and the impossibility of it all, she answered humbly, “Let it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) – and the history of the world changed.

In ancient Israel, a little girl was captured during a raid and became a slave of the army commander’s wife. Naaman, the army commander, had leprosy. The girl knew of a powerful prophet and told Naaman’s wife, “If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria, he would cure him of his leprosy.” Naaman went to see the prophet Elisha, who told Naaman simply to wash in the Jordan river. He did so, and was cured (see 2 Kings 5:1-14).

As God used young Mary to be an instrument in Jesus’ miraculous Incarnation, He also used the slave girl to be an instrument in Naaman’s miraculous healing. Though she had no social status, God inspired the girl to speak up when she realized someone could benefit from what she knew. Had she not followed her inclination to say something, Naaman wouldn’t have been cured. 

God also prompted Naaman’s servants to urge him to follow Elisha’s command. When Elisha told Naaman, through a messenger, to go wash in the river, Naaman refused. He had expected Elisha to come out to greet him and perform some kind of dramatic ritual over him; washing in the Jordan was so simple it seemed foolish. The servants pointed out that, if Elisha had ordered him to do something extraordinary, he would have done it right away. He agreed; so he went, washed, and was healed. Had these lowly servants remained silent, Naaman wouldn’t have been cured.

Lent is half over. Let’s redouble our efforts with humility to listen to the promptings of the Spirit to step out in faith or to speak up when we see someone in need. Let’s humbly listen for His guidance when others reach out to us. If we hesitate because we think we’re unqualified or we’re afraid of being criticized, then we may be thinking only of ourselves. Instead, let’s not underestimate the goodness and the loving power of God; let’s consider that He may want to accomplish something through us, impossible as that may seem. Let’s trust that, if He has put an idea in our heart, He’ll guide us to each next step to make it happen. 

Let’s believe that what He wants to accomplish through us will not be impossible if we trust Him.

“for nothing will be impossible for God.” – Luke 1:27

Open my eyes, that I may see You. Open my ears, that I may hear You. Open my heart, that I may love You in the people around me.

SIDE NOTE: The women’s a cappella quintet I sing with, Grace Notes, has been invited to join the terrific men’s vocal ensemble Sonnenberg Station in a FREE CONCERT that is open to the public on Sunday, April 6, at 7:00 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church, 2726 West Market St. in Fairlawn, across from Marc’s. Both groups will perform our own pieces and we will also sing a few together. This will be a fantastic concert! Hope to see you there – invite your friends!

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, 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 qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below.  Comments are always welcome! 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list. 

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the people around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Love Your Enemies

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It was 1976 when singer/songwriter James Taylor first sang to us, “Shower the people you love with love.” This uplifting song is a good reminder to not take our loved ones for granted. Christ would tell us, though, to take our love to a higher level – to ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ 

The kind of love Christ commands us to offer to others is selfless and compassionate. This love wants what is good for the other person, while expecting nothing in return. There is no ulterior motive; we have nothing to gain from their good fortune. This kind of love involves praying not only for the well-being of those we love, but praying also for the well-being of our ‘enemies’ – those who, for example, have caused us some kind of pain or who antagonize us. This isn’t easy to do on our own, but we can do all things through Christ Who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). And so we love the nosy neighbor, the people who attack us for our political views, and the narrow-minded coworker who belittles us. 

We love and pray for our enemies, in part, because doing so cracks open the door of our heart to Christ’s grace and makes us more compassionate toward them. In other words, praying for them changes us – we move closer to Christ and become more like Him. Also, when we love our enemies, they may see the love God has for them through our actions – and that might change their heart, too.

Let me clarify that loving our enemies does not mean putting ourselves in harm’s way. In some cases, we may have to distance ourselves from certain individuals to protect ourselves physically, mentally, or emotionally. Some relationships are beyond repair, but we can still love the other person – we can still want what is good for them and pray for them instead of cursing them. 

Lent gives us the opportunity to strengthen our resolve to love not only those who love us but to love our enemies as well, and to grow closer to Christ by doing so. If you’re longing for a closer relationship with Christ and are feeling spiritually stagnant, consider participating in a Lenten church service such as the Stations of the Cross, or look online for a Lenten speaker series. These may give you a deeper understanding of Christ’s love for you and strengthen you to go out of your comfort zone – to shower love not only on those who love you, but on all you come in contact with. 

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” 

– Matthew 5:44 

Open my eyes, that I may see You. Open my ears, that I may hear You. Open my heart, that I may love You in the people around me.

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, 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 qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list. 

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the people around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Give Up Cruise Control

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When we travel to a destination we’ve never been to before, we drive mindfully. We follow the GPS. We pay close attention to the road signs and we stay focused. On the other hand, when we’re driving to a familiar place, we’re more nonchalant. We set the cruise control and relax. We don’t have to watch the signs too closely. Sometimes we don’t even think about where we’re going. 

In a similar way, sometimes spiritually we operate on cruise control. We get set in a familiar routine and don’t think too much about where we’re going. We forget that our ‘destination’ is to grow closer to Christ and to attain the joy and peace of that close relationship. We become lukewarm with our prayers and nonchalant with how we treat the people around us. 

Lent is a time for us to give up our ‘cruise control complacency’ and to do our part to strengthen our relationship with Christ. We remind ourselves that Lent is less about what we do and more about what we allow God to do in us through our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. We remember that Christ wants us to experience His loving presence in more real and meaningful ways, and so we open our hearts to His Spirit so that He can strengthen us in His love.  

Over the next 40 days, take a step toward Christ. Let Him move your heart. Ask Him to open your eyes to experience His love for you. 

Here are a few suggestions as to how you may be more intentional in growing closer to Christ. Take a moment to let Him reveal to you more ideas: 

* Schedule a few more minutes each day for prayer. Acknowledge Christ’s presence with you, speak from your heart – and listen.

* Write your prayers in a journal. Look back on it later to see how your prayers were answered.

* Let His compassion and peace detach you from your abundance and inspire you to give more of your finances or your time to someone in need.

* Let Him give you the courage to reach out in love to an estranged family member.

* Let Him soften your heart to remove fear and bitterness.

* Let Him move you to share His love and peace with others. 

* Place your challenges on His cross and let Him use them for His purpose: the salvation of the world.

This Lent, give up your spiritual cruise control. Take a step toward Christ, Who is waiting for you. Offer Him a bit of your time and energy, and let Him fill your heart with His deep and powerful love. 

“This, rather, is the fasting that I wish… sharing your bread with the hungry, clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.” –Isaiah 58:6-7

Open my eyes, that I may see You. Open my ears, that I may hear You. Open my heart, that I may love You in the people around me.

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, 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 qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list. 

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the people around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Free Us From Ourselves

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We usually interpret Christ’s words, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35) as something like, “Making yourself last of all and a servant of all will make you first in the Kingdom of God.” Christ makes it crystal clear through His teaching that serving others is paramount if we wish to follow Him. Now, let’s look at this verse from a different angle. What if He’s also saying, “If you want to be first, you will be the last of all and a servant of all.” How does that change our understanding of His words, and what is this ‘all’ He’s talking about?

Most of us know at least one person who puts himself first. Sometimes that person is us. In his arrogance, this person believes that he deserves special privileges. He loves the spotlight. He disregards others’ circumstances and believes that his needs are more important and more urgent than those of anyone else. In his mind, his hurtful behavior is justified; he believes he’s right and everyone else is wrong. And so we pray for him, and we pray for us to become compassionate toward him.

How will this person become ‘last of all’? Think of the kid in school who cut in front of everyone in line and then got sent to the back of the line. When we put ourselves at the top, we may be told to go to the bottom. When we put ourselves first, everyone else puts us last.

What is the ‘all’ that this person may become a servant to? He becomes a servant of his arrogance, his desire for special treatment, and his need for the spotlight. He’ll be driven by his craving to be first and so he becomes a servant of his emotions and others’ opinions of him. 

So maybe the Lord is saying both: To be great in God’s eyes, we have to serve others. And, if we insist on making ourselves first, we’ll become last and a servant of that desire.

It’s easy to fall prey to that craving, so let’s pray for humility. Let’s ask our Lord to free us from the slavery of arrogance. Let’s ask Him to free us from our hurtful desires.  

Let’s ask Christ to turn our focus away from ourselves and to take advantage of opportunities to serve others, to work not only for what will benefit us but also for what will benefit them. Let’s ask our Lord to free us from ourselves and our self-serving desires.

“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” 

– Mark 9:35

Open my eyes, that I may see You. Open my ears, that I may hear You. Open my heart, that I may love You in the people around me.

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, 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 qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list. 

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the people around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

Do You Still Not Understand?

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“ARGH!” 

If you’ve ever tried to express yourself to someone and they just wouldn’t listen, then you know the feeling of exasperation.

Sometimes we think of difficult emotions like exasperation as ‘bad’ emotions. We may erroneously think that we should always feel happy. We may think, too, that because Jesus was God, He always felt happy. 

But Jesus was also a man, with all of our human emotions. We see this in Mark’s gospel, right after He performs several miracles, including feeding the multitudes. The Pharisees insist He give them yet another sign to prove Himself. Mark writes, ‘He sighed from the depth of His spirit’ (Mark 8:12). That’s quite a vivid description of Christ’s exasperation! Later, when the apostles fail to grasp the meaning behind His miracles, He sounds frustrated with their lack of comprehension: “Do you still not understand?” (Mark 8:21).

These verses, and others, remind us of Jesus’ humanity. He felt frustrated, sad, afraid, and all the rest, just like we do. He felt tempted to do what He wanted instead of what His Father wanted, just like we do. And, He felt the same kinds of physical discomforts that we do. Surely, His back and feet hurt after a full day of healing people. He certainly felt agonizing physical pain during His passion. 

What does all this mean for us? When we realize that Jesus experienced the same emotions and challenges we do, He becomes more approachable. He’s not some elusive being in the sky. No. He wants to be in a deep relationship with us, and He goes to great lengths to draw us closer to Himself.

Listen to what Our Lord may be telling you today:

Do you still not understand?

Do you not see all I have given you, and done for you?

Do you not see all the miracles around you?

Do you insist on having more?

When will you understand that everything I do and have done for you is to bring you closer to Me? To let you see yourself as I see you, love yourself as I love you, love others as I love you?

I want you to come close to Me, to learn from Me, to share your day with Me, all your joys and sorrows and accomplishments and challenges. Come to Me and bring them all to Me. Let Me show you how much I delight in you.

Look all around you. See the miracles. Let gratitude fill you.

See My love for you in everything and everyone I have given you.

See the meaning behind the miracles. See how I use them to bring you to Me. Come closer to Me.

Listen to Him. Trust Him. He wants you to go deeper.

“He said to them, ‘Do you still not understand?’” – Mark 8:21 

Open my eyes, that I may see You. Open my ears, that I may hear You. Open my heart, that I may love You in the people around me.

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, 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 qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list. 

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the people around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

When I Behold Your Heavens

 

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“How cool is it that the same God who created oceans and mountains and galaxies thought the world needed one of you, too.” – Unknown

Imagine God creating you: He’s holding you in His hands, looking at you with a loving smile on His face as He works. Imagine Him pouring heaping amounts of love, peace, and joy inside of you. Imagine Him holding tiny you up to His cheek, His heart bursting with love for you. 

You are one of God’s wonders! Maybe you’ve felt insignificant standing next to a giant sequoia or at the foot of a mountain. Maybe you’ve marveled at the magnificence of His creation while scuba diving or looking through a telescope. Maybe you appreciate the beauty of nature all around you. Small as you are, God cares for you more than all of those other wonders! How can we understand this? This might help: If you have a pet, certainly you love that pet. But your love for your friends, spouse, kids, and grandkids is different from your love for your pet; it’s immeasurable. In a similar way, God loves you in a more profound way than He loves the rest of creation.

You might be thinking, “Who am I that You care for me? There are billions of people in the world, and our world is one tiny part of the universe. How can You love me?”

Listen to what our Lord may be saying to you:

“Let Me wrap My arms around you. I love you. I made you! I made you like nobody else.

No one can contribute to the world like you can.

No one else has your heart that loves like you do.

No one else has your personality to show Me to the world like you can.

No one else has your precise set of talents to bring My joy and peace to the world like you can.

Yes, I created the universe. All of it – what you see and can’t see, and even those things you can’t imagine.

I also created you, because I love you. 

I created you because the world needs you. 

I need you to throw off the cloak of discouragement and despair and let My love burn in your heart.

Let My love fill you with such joy that you have to share it with the people around you.

The world needs to experience My love, and I need you to show it to them.

Ponder the awesomeness of God. Let Him set your heart on fire with His love, His peace, and His joy.

“When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You set in place – what is mankind that you should be mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” – Psalm 8:3-4

Open my eyes, that I may see You. Open my ears, that I may hear You. Open my heart, that I may love You in the people around me.

Thank you for reading my reflection.  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words!    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, 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 qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list. 

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the people around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.

The Power of Huddles

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This week before the Super Bowl seems like an appropriate time to make some comparisons between football and life. (Hey, I have three brothers! I ‘get’ the game!) 

In football, each team is one unit, yet individual players contribute their respective talents toward the shared mission of winning the game. In their quest to score touchdowns, those who play offense strategize before the game and then, more importantly, they meet in huddles on a regular basis to check their progress and encourage one another. Huddling and working together to utilize every player’s skills make the whole team stronger.

In life, God has given us ‘teams’ that provide us with opportunities to contribute to the common good and to strengthen us as we work toward our goals of loving and serving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. These teams include our family, friends, work, church, and the organizations we participate in.

Community is important – we strengthen our ‘offense’ by working together with our teams to reach those goals. One powerful way to do this is to ‘huddle’ on a regular basis. When we huddle, we forge bonds with the other members; we affirm and support each other; we make each other stronger. Family huddles include setting aside time to listen to each other, maybe at mealtimes. Huddles with our coworkers, friends, and group members include meetings, social gatherings, and rehearsals. Huddles to strengthen our spiritual resolve include participating in Mass and other services and receiving God’s grace through the sacraments. 

Football is a rough game. The defense will do everything they can to crush the offense. They huddle to communicate their plan of attack. The offense’s huddles help them anticipate the defense’s tactics so they’re not caught by surprise.  

Life can be rough, too. Evil forces in the world attack us – they use all kinds of tactics to stop us from reaching our goals. We experience this, for example, when we rationalize our persistence in what we know are unloving or hurtful actions. We see this, too, when we run into determined interference in our efforts to huddle with our teams – huddles that would strengthen our relationships and our efforts to serve God and others. These challenges are part of life; as Christ told His followers, “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). 

Thank God for the teams He’s given us, and the huddles we participate in, that strengthen us in our efforts to love and serve God and our neighbor.

“May the God of peace… furnish you with all that is good, that you may do His will. May He carry out in you what is pleasing to Him through Jesus Christ…” 

– Hebrews 13:20-21

Open my eyes, that I may see You. Open my ears, that I may hear You. Open my heart, that I may love You in the people around me.

Thank you for reading my reflection!  All thanks to God for giving me the ideas and guiding my words.    © 2025 Gina Bedell   

  

Through these reflections, I invite you, 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 qualified persons in order to grow in your faith and understanding of God’s love and will for your life. 

Comments are always welcome! Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. 

If you or someone you know would like to receive these writings directly, please email me at ginabedell1@gmail.com and I will add you to my ‘BCC’ email list. 

You can also find my posts on my Facebook page!

P.S.

Pray for peace at home and around the world. Donate to a cause that tugs at your heart. Take care of those around you; take care of our planet. Pray for the families around the globe whose lives have been torn apart by war and natural disasters.