Faith Is Action

“Cast all your worries upon Him.” – 1 Peter 5:7

“I’m so worried,” my friend said. “I know I’m supposed to put my faith in God. I know I’m supposed to ‘let go and let God.’ I keep trying to just relax and let Him handle it, but I can’t. My faith must be weak because I’m still worried.”

There’s a lot of misunderstanding out there about what it means to have faith when life throws us or our loved ones under the bus. There are also a lot of well intentioned yet misleading and even hurtful cliches that can make some people, like my faith-filled friend, think their faith must be weak or they wouldn’t be worried.

We worry because we or someone we care about is suffering. We shouldn’t apologize or feel guilty about the worry; instead, we can let it spur us to action – with faith. Our trust in the Lord doesn’t make our caring about the situation go away. Rather, the worry is coupled with assurance that God will help us get through it. 

“...if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move...” – Matthew 17:20

Jesus didn’t say our faith would take away all our problems or the difficult emotions that come with them. Also, faith isn’t passive; trusting Him doesn’t mean sitting back and letting Him move the mountains. What He said was that when we put our faith in Him, we allow Him to give us all wisdom, courage, and fortitude to do what appears to be impossible. We don’t act on our own power but with the grace and power He gives us.  

Our first faith action is prayer: We ask our God of Love to bless the suffering person with whatever they need at that moment, and picture Him pouring all these and His peace onto them.

We pray for ourselves, whether we’re the ones suffering or not, and ask Jesus to calm our minds so we can see the situation clearly. We ask for His wisdom and guidance as we look for something concrete to do. 

Then, we search for what we can do, with His grace, for the one who’s suffering. We ask them: would they like a visit, meal, or babysitter? A ride to an appointment? Anything? Many people won’t ask for help but will welcome it when it’s offered. 

We worry for our loved ones because they’re important to us. Instead of stewing and letting fear paralyze us, though, we put our faith in Christ and trust Him to give us His strength to carry our burdens and ease the burdens of others. 

“Lord, I trust You to help me with Your wisdom and grace through difficult situations.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

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p.s.

We continue to pray for an end to the war. If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine through the Cleveland Maidan Association, you may use either PayPal or a credit/debit card here:

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Faith Is Not a Feeling

Photo credit: dreamstime

“Increase our faith!” – Luke 17:5

The first time we went camping, our two oldest girls were three years and 16 months old. My in-laws gave us their canvas pop-up camper and we towed it to East Harbor State Park. That particular weekend, it rained. And rained. And rained. We didn’t let it dampen our spirits. With raincoats, umbrellas, and boots, the girls stomped in every puddle they could find. They danced while the rain fell onto them. They laughed and shared mud pies. They discovered colorful flowers and smooth pebbles as we explored the campground. We had picnics outside under the tarp. And, to my relief, we found a way to keep the mud out of the camper. Yes, we had hoped for sunshine. Yes, our beach plans were canceled. And through it all, we had such a great time we camped every year after that for the next dozen years, with that same camper and the addition of our two younger children.

It’s challenging to not let the weather dampen our spirits. Sometimes I even let the ‘weather’ of my circumstances affect how I live my faith; maybe you do the same thing. When life is sunny and all is going smoothly, we may feel loving, and it’s easy to share Christ’s love and joy with others.

But when difficulties come up, we might not feel Christ’s presence. We mistakenly think that means He isn’t paying attention to us. Or we think our faith must be weak because we don’t have any kind of warm and fuzzy glow inside of us when we pray. 

Faith is not a feeling. It’s a gift we’re given at our baptism. Faith lets us trust Christ, His promises, and the power that His Spirit gives us, even though we don’t feel Him, and even when we still have questions.

“Faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.” 

– Hebrews 11:1 

Our Lord wants our faith to grow. In little increments, He will increase our faith each time we put our trust in Him. As we trust Him more and more, our faith grows, and our ability to deal lovingly with life’s challenges grows stronger. This isn’t dependent on our feelings, but on our decision to trust Him to give us His grace for every situation. The more we exercise our faith, the stronger it becomes.

For example, we thank God for our work and share His love with our colleagues. We ask Him for His wisdom in our work. When we pray, we picture Him wrapping His loving arms around those we’re praying for and trust He will bless them with whatever it is they need most. When happy, seemingly little ‘coincidences’ happen, we see them not as chance but as His intervention – His miracles. 

May our faith in Christ guide our actions, whether we feel Him with us or not.

“Lord, increase my faith!”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

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

p.s.

We continue to pray for an end to the war. If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine through the Cleveland Maidan Association, you may use either PayPal or a credit/debit card here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/...

What's in Your Bucket?

“Be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love...”  – Ephesians 5:1-2 

In the 1990 movie ‘Ghost,’ when Sam is being called to heaven, he says to Molly, “It’s incredible, Molly. All the love inside you? You take it with you.”

I was thinking about this scene not too long ago and an image came to mind that I’d like to share with you:

 

I imagined I was walking toward heaven and approaching Jesus. I noticed I was carrying a bucket in each hand. I thought of the 1 Corinthians 13 passage that starts out, ‘Love is patient, love is kind.’ I looked down at the buckets and saw that each one was filled with all my attitudes and actions that were not loving, like impatience. 

Jesus had his arms outstretched to welcome and embrace me; I wanted to run to Him, but I couldn’t get to Him because the buckets were dragging me down. And even if I could have reached Him, I couldn’t have hugged Him back because I was still holding onto those buckets. So, instead of taking a heart full of love to heaven, as Sam described in the movie, I wasn’t able to get close to Jesus because I was carrying those buckets full of junk.

God wants us to be with Him for all eternity. Since God is love, then heaven can contain only love, not the kind of junk I was carrying. Since God is everywhere, then when we let His love immerse us and we share it with others, we can catch glimpses of heaven here, in this life. Then, when our time on earth is over, God will be waiting with open arms to welcome us, and we’ll experience the magnitude of His love when we share eternal life with Him. 

Since heaven contains only love, we can experience heaven only if we ask Him to forgive us and help us get rid of all that is not loving, everything that’s weighing us down and hindering His loving work in us. Then our hearts will be open to receive a new outpouring of His Spirit in us so that we, in turn, can extend our hands to others in love, forgiveness, and service. 

We’re now halfway through Lent. Now is a good time to look at what we’re carrying around with us in our spiritual ‘buckets.’ Now is the time to empty those buckets – our hearts, minds, and souls – from all that is not loving. Now is the time to ask God to free us from whatever hinders us from loving Him and the people around us, and make room for more of everything that is love: patience, kindness, and all the rest.

“Lord, help me get rid of those unloving attitudes and actions that weigh me down and keep me separated from You.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

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

p.s.

We continue to pray for an end to the war. If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine through the Cleveland Maidan Association, you may use either PayPal or a credit/debit card here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/...

Forgive and Be Free

“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” 

--Matthew 6:12

You: “I’m sorry for hurting you.”

Me: “That’s OK.” 

That’s how it usually goes, right?

Wouldn’t a better response be, “I forgive you”? Saying “That’s OK” doesn’t acknowledge your own pain or your need for forgiveness. By saying “I forgive you” I accept your apology and assure you that I’m willing to put the matter behind us.

Every time we pray the “Our Father” we ask our Lord to forgive us as we forgive others. When we sin – when we do something hurtful to ourselves or someone else – and tell God, “I’m sorry,” He doesn’t say, “That’s OK.” He says, “I forgive you.” We’re to do the same for others. 

Forgiveness is an act of the will, not a feeling. (It’s different from reconciliation, which involves both parties.) We choose to forgive someone even if we don’t feel forgiving. We acknowledge the hurt they caused us and decide not to let what was done in the past taint our present. When we forgive, we set ourselves free; we don’t give the offender power over us. Instead, we allow the power of God to release us from our ruminating and the need for revenge. We ask God for the grace to look into the other’s heart and see the goodness there. 

What if the offender doesn’t ask us for forgiveness? We can still choose to forgive them, in our hearts. 

Forgiveness doesn’t mean giving someone permission to hurt us again. We need to protect ourselves, especially in severe cases.That might mean having an honest conversation with the other person, seeking counseling, or getting out of an abusive relationship. We may have to distance ourselves from someone, or avoid situations that make us vulnerable. 

We recall that when people, including us, hurt others, we’re sometimes acting out of our own hurt. So we forgive, and ask for forgiveness. We ask God to heal our hearts and replace our pain with His peace. 

With His grace, we’re free to treat others and ourselves with love, mercy, and kindness. 

God is waiting to set you free – from bitterness, pain, and the weight of your own sins. Today, Wednesday, March 8, all Catholic churches in the Diocese of Cleveland will be open for the Sacrament of Reconciliation from 5-8 p.m. Remember that Christ is there, hidden by the priest. Whether it’s been a week or a lifetime since your last Confession, you’re invited to ‘begin again’ at any church in the diocese. Let Jesus pour His loving grace and mercy upon you through this wonderful sacrament of freedom, peace, and reconciliation with God.

“Lord, give me the grace and courage to seek Your forgiveness and forgive

others as You forgive me.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

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

p.s.

We continue to pray for an end to the war. If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine through the Cleveland Maidan Association, you may use either PayPal or a credit/debit card here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/...

Dare to Look Deeper

 

“Make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.” –Ezekiel 18:31

I haven’t had much luck with house plants in the past but right now, to my surprise and delight, I have half a dozen plants that seem to be thriving. One of them is commonly called a ‘prayer plant’ because its leaves reach up toward the heavens when the sun goes down, and then set back down again at sunrise. It’s quite large, bushy, and beautiful.

Last week while I was watering it, I looked deep into the center of the plant, where all the stems come up together out of the soil. I was surprised to see many dead leaves in there! I realized I had paid attention to the outer leaves but failed to routinely inspect and water the center and interior of the plant. So, I cut away those dead leaves and stems, and this time watered the whole plant.

That got me thinking about my spiritual life. I invite you to ask yourself the same kinds of questions that I asked myself: Do I tend to pay attention only to the ‘outer part’ of my spiritual life, even during Lent – for example, how and when I pray, fast, and give alms – or do I also dare to look deep down inside of me to examine if my attitudes, actions, and motives are rooted in love? When I pray, do I let our Lord transform my heart and make me more like Him in what I think, say, and do? Have I been ‘fertilizing’ the faith He gave me at my baptism by reading and meditating on His words, seeking Him and serving Him in the people around me, and caring for the Earth He created? Have I been receptive, like good soil, to what He wants to do through me? Have I been ‘watering’ my relationships with the people closest to me? Is there a destructive habit or other ‘dead branch’ in my life that needs to be pruned away? 

Let’s dare to look deep into our hearts and let our Lord transform us into His likeness, as He created us to be.

“Lord, penetrate the depths of my heart. Make me more like You.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

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

p.s.

We continue to pray for an end to the war. If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine through the Cleveland Maidan Association, you may use either PayPal or a credit/debit card here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/...

Strengthen Your Relationships This Lent

“Even now, says the Lord, return to Me with your whole heart.” –Joel 2:12

Lent begins today, Ash Wednesday. The next 40 days give us the opportunity to intentionally and deliberately fan into flame the gift of faith God has given us. The discipline of Lent – including prayer, fasting, and almsgiving – is designed to strengthen our relationship with God, with others, and with ourselves. It’s an opportunity to get closer to God, let Him use us to bless others, and make us more and more into the people He created us to be.

Through prayer, we open our minds and hearts to what God wants to say to us; in this way our faith is strengthened. Through fasting, we remove whatever it is that distracts us from loving ourselves and the people around us. Through almsgiving, we detach ourselves from our material goods and see Christ in all people. 

Choose one thing to do this Lent to strengthen your relationships; it doesn’t have to be heroic or super-difficult. Here are a few ideas: 

  Take a few moments to thank God for another day. Write down what you’re grateful for.   

Spend just 15 minutes each day reading and reflecting on a passage in the gospels. Read slowly and notice which words strike a chord with you. Then sit quietly, think about those particular words, and pay attention to the thoughts that come to mind. Those thoughts are Jesus speaking to you.

** I highly recommend watching the series “The Chosen,” which tells the story of Jesus through the eyes of those who followed Him. I was moved way beyond my expectations and found it incredibly powerful to see how the producers brought the people and the stories to life in ways that no other ‘Jesus movie’ has ever done. It’s free: just google The Chosen and click on ‘Watch.’ You can also download the app. I recommend you begin with Season 1, Episode 1. Some episodes are 20 minutes, others are an hour or more. **

Fast from something that prevents you from being present. Check your phone less frequently; give up Netflix or social media. 

Fast from gossiping, or criticizing, or judging the people down the street who live differently from how you live.

Giving alms doesn’t have to mean giving money. The point is to give something away to bless others. Give your heart: Say something sincere and kind to a different person every day. Give your time: Contact a soup kitchen or homeless shelter and ask if you can contribute to their meals. Maybe each week you could give to a different organization. 

Let’s use Lent to intentionally strengthen our faith and our relationships.

“Lord, thank You for these 40 days to draw closer to You and each other.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

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

p.s.

We continue to pray for an end to the war. If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine through the Cleveland Maidan Association, you may use either PayPal or a credit/debit card here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/...

God Needs Us to Work His Miracles

 

“And He took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking up to heaven, He blessed them and broke them, and gave them to the disciples again and again, to serve the crowd.”

 – Luke 9:16

The miracles of God’s marvelous creation are on full display in the western sky this month. According to NASA’s website, Jupiter and Venus are visible now, and Mars will be visible February 27! 

You’re probably familiar with the above story of Jesus feeding the multitudes. Notice, though, that He didn’t immediately take away their hunger. He needed the cooperation of the people around Him in order to perform the miracle: The apostles approached Him with the dilemma; they trusted that He could remedy the situation; the boy generously offered his bread and fish; and the apostles followed Jesus’ instructions to distribute the food.

How did his followers so confidently trust Him? They had spent time with Him, listening to Him. Jesus’ teachings were so different from those that had been passed down through the generations. His teachings weren’t about following rules; they were about loving people – all people! They believed that He wanted only what was good – what was of Love – for them.  

What miracle are you hungry for? Affirmation? Direction? A sense of purpose? Healing? Turn to the One Who created you. He Who made the planets and fed the multitudes can work miracles in your life, too, if you have faith and trust in Him. 

Remember, God doesn’t simply remove our difficulties; He needs our participation. Talk to Him about your situation – that’s prayer. Believe that He wants only what’s good for you. Offer Him what you have: your skills, your resources, your time, your creativity. Let His grace act in you to soften your heart and open your mind. Pay attention to the thoughts God puts in your mind: If they’re rooted in love and if they give you even a mild sense of peace, you know those thoughts are from Him. If they fill you with anger or restlessness, those are not from God but from the evil forces of the world trying to distract you. 

God lives in us and uses us and our circumstances to work miracles and feed our souls. He lets us experience His love in the words and actions we share with each other. He expands our hearts in awe of His creation. He teaches us the magnitude of His love through His words in Scripture. He needs us to cooperate with Him in creating our children! He helps us understand the simplicity of His loving message when we hold a sleeping baby or laugh with a giggling toddler. 

He needs each one of us to share His love and peace with the world.  As Mother Teresa said, ‘We are His hands and His feet.’ 

God needs you. What a miracle that is!

“Lord, I believe You need me. Help me trust in You.”

Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell     Comments are always welcome! 

Please share this with your friends by clicking on one of the icons below. Blogspot doesn’t have a ‘subscribe’ feature and so I appreciate your help in sharing my reflections. Thanks!

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

p.s.

We continue to pray for an end to the war. If you’d like to help the people of Ukraine through the Cleveland Maidan Association, you may use either PayPal or a credit/debit card here:

https://www.paypal.com/donate/...