“Change is life giving. It helps us grow into someone greater than we already are.”
This morning as I walked along the pond at work before starting my morning, I noticed murky water surrounding the outer boundaries of the pond. As I asked God to reveal himself to me along my walk, I peered towards the fountain towards the center of the pond. As my eyes moved towards the center, I noticed the water wasn’t as murky.
As I continued to walk, I began to contemplate my exterior and interior being. Just like the outer realm of the pond, there are things on the external that muddy my life, causing confusion and lack of clarity. When I gazed towards the fountain, I could see the life giving springs at the core of who I am. That spring is God Himself living within me. I can choose to go to this core and clear up the murky waters or I can choose to live on the exterior treading through the muddiness of life.
Of course God didn’t stop there out at the pond. As I entered the building, on the wall I noticed a poster hanging that said “Change is life giving. It helps us grow into someone greater than we already are.” Funny – this poster has probably hung in this same spot since I’ve worked at this campus the past 10 years. I have walked past it quite a number of times and never really realized the words printed on it. Yet, today as I’m reflecting on the gradient changes in the pond, I see this poster and realize the words on it are more food for thought for me in this very moment. You think it was a God moment? You bet it was.
I asked myself what does it mean to me to go to that center, that living water that resides within me and each of you?
- Asking God to desire Him, to desire holiness, to desire life.
- Receiving the graces He offers us.
- Change.
I’ve been reading “Finding God in all things: A Companion to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, by William Barry, S.J. In the book, he points out that our desires are not under our control. If we are unhappy with what we desire, then we must ask God to change or help us overcome those desires. It is only through our realization that God is in control of our being, even our desires, that we can request to desire Him first, to desire sanctity and this life giving water.
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Once we have the desire for this life giving water, then we will search out and take part in that which offers us grace – the Sacraments, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. I believe when we receive the graces God offers us, we begin a transformation within us that is life giving and brings us into the core of who we are in Christ. This starts with our conversion but doesn’t end there. The more we are open to receiving the gifts God offers us through this living spring within us, the more change we undergo and the greater God illuminates through us, revealing Himself to others. This is our call to discipleship, to building the Kingdom of God. My friends, the greatest vision I have had is to look upon another sister or brother in Christ and see Jesus looking back at me through that person. Over the years, there have been many sisters and brothers that have reflected the very essence of Christ in my presence through their unending love, compassion and mercy. Today, that is our challenge, in a world full of brokenness, to reflect the image of Christ from the core of our being onto our brothers and sisters, especially those that hurt us the most.
Categories: Faith, Identity in Christ
Women Who Walk By Faith 
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