#godswill – Women Who Walk By Faith

Find yourself in the minefields often?

“Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:10-17

Ever feel like you are at war? Fighting a battle you feel you can’t win? Do your battles tend to be with people?

I work in an environment that is primarily men. In fact, I spend about 95% of my time around men at work. Often times they humor me with their comments. One day, we were sitting talking and they began to laugh and started describing images of me putting war paint on under my eyes. I often do go to battle for these men as they are my direct reports and as their leader, I do my best to be their voice. Although I thought it a funny image, I later began to reflect on that image of putting on war paint to go to battle and what do I put on to fight my personal battles in my life. I’m not sure war paint is the answer. Seriously, what purpose would that solve if you weren’t using it to camouflage yourself as you try to sneak up on the enemy?

Almost every day, we are faced with battles in our lives. Sometimes those battles start the minute we open our eyes until the time we go to bed. So how do we best fight these battles? In Ephesians 6:10-17, I think we are given the perfect recipe for fighting the war – putting on the armor of God. We may not see that armor as being effective if we don’t realize that our battle is not with the person beside us, but our fight is “with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.” Until we realize that key point, we talk until we are blue in the face, shout as loud as we can, resist doing kind things, and in some cases retreat in silence and solitude. The flesh and blood placed in front of you, the one you are struggling with is not your enemy. In fact, God placed that person in your life or allowed that person in your life for some reason. I guarantee that.

When I begin to unpack Ephesians 6:10-17, the first thing I notice in verse 10 – “Draw your strength from the Lord.” That first verse tells me that the key to putting on the armor is to first trust God in your weakness and let Him be your strength. In verse 14, St Paul tells us to gird our loins in truth, to prepare and strengthen ourselves in God. He also tell us to be clothed with righteousness as a breastplate. In the book of Wisdom 5:16 it says that God will “shelter [the righteous] with His right hand and protect them with His arm.” So put your armor on, prepare yourself with God’s strength, His truth and allow Him to protect you by wrapping His arms around you. In verse 16, St Paul tells us to hold our faith as a shield, protecting us from the arrows. When it feels like your struggles are piercing you and the arrows are coming from every direction, hold on to your faith – trust in your Heavenly Father that all things work for His good. Finally in verse 17, he tells us to protect our heads with the salvation delivered by our Lord and use the Word of God as our weapon. Being Catholic, I look upon that last verse twofold. My sword, is both the Word found in the Bible and the Word made flesh found in the Eucharist, the body and blood of Jesus through His death, our salvation.

black steel helmet near black and gray handle sword — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

What I find in Ephesians 6 is that when I place my trust in God, allowing His strength to prevail in my weakness and Him to cover me in His arms, my faith burns like a fiery shield as I walk through the battle with the body and blood of my Lord and the love letter of my Heavenly Father lighting the darkness as I trod the battlefield of my life. Our battles will be numerous and the field will be treacherous, but if we fight with the right armor and the right weapon, we will always be victorious. Our God is a good God and His purpose in our lives is far beyond the battlefield. The battlefield is where He strengthens us because it is His strength that we draw on to win the wars in our lives. Next time you find yourself in the minefields, put on the “armor of God” and pick of the “sword of the Spirit.”

The roller coaster of life

“I command you be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Have you ever rode a roller coaster? Have you stood in the line watching it go up and straight down, twisting and jerking those riding, while they scream to the top of their lungs? Did you stand there in excitement or a part of you fighting fear of the sudden drop?

black and white roller coaster — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I think life comes at us often like a roller coaster. As we watch from the sidelines, we anticipate what may happen and some emotions begin to form within, most often fear of what may happen on the ride. Once you are strapped in your seat, you are secure by that of mankind. Then the ride begins and you build yourself up with excitement as you begin to climb to the highest point. Then it hits as you are at the top for a split second, fear of the unknown of what may happen as you descend rapidly. Once you reach the bottom, you realize it’s not so bad and your safety belt held. You are secure. As the ride continues, you get twisted and jerked here and there and continue climbing steep tracks and descending. After the ride is over, you are exhilarated. You did something very daring, but most of all you placed your trust in the security of your safety belt and the human engineering of the roller coaster. You can also look at it from the perspective of freedom. On the coaster, you let go and felt freedom from your own control as you had no where to go but where it took you once it started down the track.

One can compare this to life and our relationship with God. On the roller coaster, we are placing our life in the security of man, the designer, construction crew, the quality control and maintenance of the coaster and not ourselves. In life, through FAITH, we place our life in the security of God. Of course, we have to hop on the coaster of life and let God be in control of the highs and lows, the twists and jerks. Sometimes we may be challenged greatly as the descend takes us directly into a twist and flips our world upside down. Even in that moment, He still has you on the track guiding you through to the next. As you are at the bottom, He begins to prepare you for the ascend to the top, to the space freely created to accomplish His will in you, to trust Him when you begin to descend again. The wheels will remain on the track. As you trust in the security of His love and His Word, you will remain planted, grounded in Him.

I find myself often faltering from my trust in God. Usually it is in that split second that I realize life has just challenged me and I’m about to descend into a twist and turn, I begin to rely on my human nature of taking control and doing everything on my own. Sometimes, it’s not until I get halfway down the sudden drop when I realize, God is in control of this and as long as I place my trust in Him, I will stay on the track and life will not fall apart. I know I will falter that is my nature. But if I realize at some point down the slope, that God has this and I’m in the security of His hands, then I have still won the battle. God will always be there ready to keep me on the track and safely secure in the seat of the roller coaster of life. When He delivers His message of assurance through His Word or another’s reflection, it is overwhelmingly exhilarating.

How does God’s thrill ride compare to man’s? How exhilarating is it? Do you want to ride it over and over again?

Fruit in the Silence

“Attend to the sound of my cry, my King and my God” Psalm 5:3

Have you ever been in a place or a state when all you feel like doing is crying, hoping that it will bring you solace? What about prayer – have you sat down in silence and struggled and found your self resting, being consoled and comforted?

I found myself today practicing being present to God in silence. I must say this is a total struggle for me at times. My mind tends to wander all over the world and back. As I sat in the chapel in Adoration, in front of the Blessed Sacrament, I settled my mind and engaged in silence and total presence. As I sat there, an image popped into my head. The image, at the time I found to be intriguing. It was the ocean washing ashore. At first there was a wall present and then I realized the wall was gone and the water was just washing away the sand before me as it came ashore. Because I was centering myself in prayer, I didn’t want to analyze this too much but felt that the wall was a blockage for me to be present to God and as the water washed ashore, He removed it so that I could center myself. Then I realized as the sand began to wash away, that God was washing away the top layers of my being and revealing my inner self, my center in Him. At that moment, I don’t think I realized the impact this would have later in my day. This created free space for me to be present with God, in preparation for what would come later.

sea landscape beach landmark — Photo by Zukiman Mohamad on Pexels.com

Later as my day emerged, more things began to surface affecting my peace and I found myself crying out to God and found myself centering my inner being in His presence unveiling a greater peace and comfort. As I am faced with a challenge ahead of me, this presence and act of centering my soul in a cry to “my King and my God,” prepares me with great strength, with peace, and with trust. These are the moments when my prayer life struggles yet strengthens and my faith grows leaps and bounds. It is where my heart meets the heart of Christ, and my pains, His wounds.

So I asked myself and I ask you, have you sat in silence lately, centering your being in Christ, crying out to Him from the deeper core of your heart, allowing Him to comfort, hold and whisper His will for you? Silence can be scary in a world of noise, but it can also be comforting and restful to heart that is in need.

Magnificence in the details

“Countless, unseen details are often the only difference between mediocre and magnificent.” Author unknown

What details in your life seemed mediocre at the time but brought about a magnificent encounter with your relationship with God once you realized His goodness, His presence and His grace?

What about in your trials and sufferings or in times that seem to not be going the way you planned? Have you wondered how sweeter they would be if you accept the fullness of God’s grace and surrender to His will in the midst of what is going on in your life?

Almost every morning, I begin my day with a walk to clear my mind and to ask that God be present with me in my day. When I begin my walk, I ask God to reveal to me what He would like for me to see on my walk. Sometimes He teaches me about life or connections in my life through observation of the ducks or the movement of the water. Today as I walked along the quiet path seeking God’s guidance, I noticed the remnant of a recent storm that cluttered the path with leaves, twigs and pine needles.

As I continued to walk, my mind kept wondering back to the debris on the path. How often in my own storms of life have I felt everything had been blown around, cluttered, out of “wack”? I walked back around to the spot on the path that appeared to have the most debris. As I looked down, I noticed the pine needles touching one another, the leaves over lapped each other and was reminded how intricate each detail of my life is connected. Even in the storms, there are connections to the beauty and joy in my life. In fact, it is through the rubbish that I am able to see the beauty and God’s goodness in my life. Often times, it isn’t until after the storm has passed when I see His grace.

So I sit and wonder how much sweeter would it be to see the fullness of His grace in the midst of the storm? Would I feel an immense joy? Would the suffering appear to be full of love? Would my heart feel alive? Would I be overcome with peace? What emotions would sweep over me? Would I experience the same feelings Jesus felt as He experienced His passion? If so, what would those feelings look like?

Whatever the feeling may be it would be Divine experiencing the grace that God gives me in that moment. To see the details, when I am in the middle of these moments of chaos and trials, through the eyes of God could only be magnificent compared to the mediocre view that I see when I don’t allow myself to receive His grace in these times of struggle.

Each day as I grow closer in relationship to God, I am beginning to pay attention to the small details in my life and see the beauty He reveals to me on my continued journey with Him. I truly see the magnificence in the smallest details of life as I become more aware. Through awareness, I can piece these details together like a puzzle and find meaning that speaks to my heart and my discernment in life.

Are you allowing yourself to be open to the fullness of God’s grace in the midst of whatever it is you are struggling with in life? Can you see the details that radiate His magnificent goodness present within these moments or are you caught up in the moment and only see the mediocre rubbish of the storm? Have you taken a short walk and experienced the tiniest detail in nature that speaks directly to your soul, revealing God’s love to you? If not, take a 10 minute walk and just pay attention to all that is around you, the rubbish on the ground, the butterfly on a blade of grass, even the tiniest ant walking along the sidewalk. You will be amazed at the connection and the beauty you discover.

Love a deeper force of attraction

St John of the Cross, “soul is in God like a stone buried in the earth. The soul is attracted to the deepest center of God like the stone is attracted to the deepest center of the earth. This attraction is mutual. The force of attraction between the soul and the center of God is not gravity but love.”

Where is the anchor of your heart? What about your soul? Do you feel an attraction to something that is unexplainable? A deep desire for something bigger than your physical life?

St John of the Cross’ metaphor of our soul’s attraction to God by love being similar to a stone attracted to the earth by gravity is a beautiful image. It reminds me of Margaret Silf’s road map of our lives in the book Inner Compass. She explains that our lives are comprised of layers: Where I am? How I am? Who I am? The deepest center – I am.

Where I am is my connection to circumstance, the things in my environment I cannot change. This is my past. It is my family, where I come from, the outer part of me.

How I am is how I respond to the environment, my circumstance and to others. I can love. I can be angry. I can be afraid. I can be merciful and compassionate. I can accept things or not. This is where I make choices and affect changes within in myself and the world.

Who I am is my true being. It is who I truly am, where I face my indifference. It’s the comfort and peace of my being and it is the challenges I face as I see the differences between the outer me and the person created by God. This is my spiritual being in the I am that lay at the deepest part of my soul. This is where my relationship with God is, where my seed of God’s love grows and produces fruit. This is where I journey through prayer, the very essence of my journey.

In our lives, we will move between each of the layers – back and forth. Some people may never move into the who I am because of the risk and the challenges they may face by approaching a relationship with God. Those of us who do move here may be faced with challenges by seeing the gap between life in the where we are and the person God created us to be. In this space we gain wisdom, strength, and love. We begin to find acceptance with joy to circumstance that we cannot change. It challenges us to see the things where God is calling us to transform to be resurrected from. This is where our intimate relationship with God fuels a trust in Him.

air atmosphere beautiful blue — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

As we continue to dive deeper the love of God attracts us to the center, to the deeper core of us. This is where our deepest desires lay. Where we are most in touch with who God is in us and who He created us to be. This is where our anchor is. And everything else should be centered and directed from this point as we transition through each layer of ourself back and forth. Processing circumstance into our action based on who we truly are in the one who created us.

Through this movement, there are times we may have an experience that is not explainable, that is providential. It is something that is tangential to all the layers of our being. It is a moment when we have truly been touched by God and he has moved and united all layers fusing our where I am to the how I am and the who I am, driving roots to the center, anchoring our total being to Him. When this happens His light shines around us, glowing from our center for all to see. This is a point of spiritual freedom, the top of the mountain in our journey.

Have you allowed yourself to be open to move into the who I am, allowing God to anchor Himself from your where I am to the center of your being, to your heart?

Is your deepest desire a communal relationship with God?

“…our belonging to God, our deep bond with him, a relationship that gives meaning to our whole life and keeps us resolute, in communion with him, even during the most difficult and troubled moments” Pope Francis

What is your deepest desire? Is it a communal relationship with God? These are both good questions to ponder and reflect on today as you read the Gospel of John, chapter 6.

Todays Gospel reading is one of my favorites. In fact the series of the Gospel of John, chapter 6, has always been my favorite series at Mass. I think the reason is that over the years, I have realized the true meaning of the Eucharist in my life. It is the “communion with Him”. Before receiving the Eucharist, my heart desires so greatly to be consumed by Jesus as I consume His body and blood and when I receive the Eucharist at Mass, I receive this gift of Jesus’ presence within me that is like no other.

Today at Mass, something happened that brought a deeper meaning to me in the blessings and healing of the Eucharist and the communion with God. Just before Mass, I was reading The Better Part which is reflections on the Gospel. In The Better Part, Christ as friend, I had read

“You want more out of your life; I do too. I am what you’re looking for. Know me better; listen to me; trust me more.”

Today, before the consecration of the bread and wine, I heard this small voice whisper to me to offer up this Mass for my ex-husband. A little resistant at first, I remember thinking that is a lot to ask and not so easy today. After recalling what I had read before Mass, I knew that when the body and blood were raised up, I was to offer the Mass up for my ex-husband. I was to listen to that inner voice and trust that Jesus knew me better and knew what I needed today. So, I offered the Mass up for my ex. After receiving communion, when I went back to my pew to pray, I felt a release as tears cleansed me while I prayed.

I wanted to share this because I think this is an example of desiring and embracing a communal relationship with God. It’s through the Eucharist that the communal bond – as Father mentioned today – with Jesus as the wedding ring, a union between man and God takes place.

Jesus says in the Gospel today,

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” John 6:35

If you do not believe or have trouble believing that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, read the Gospel of John, chapter 6 carefully and let the words soak in – ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read this beautiful reading. He came to earth to not only die for us but to give us life and fulfill us by being present with us in this beautiful Sacrament.

Which path will you choose?

“Never say or do anything until you have asked yourself whether it will be pleasing to God, good for yourself, and edifying to your neighbor.” St Ignatius of Loyola

In discernment, there are always two paths. One leads to God’s will and the other to your will. Which will you choose? And how do you know which is which?

I think these two paths can be broken down into more paths in the decision making. Each can have a variety of answers aligned with God’s will or your will; but there are always two main paths.

Today is the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola. St Ignatius started the society of Jesus and is also known for his spiritual exercises. In his spiritual exercises, he teaches his pupils to meditate in prayer, seeking indifference, to contemplate their feelings and to ponder the spiritual movement of those feelings.

Why feelings? Our feelings tell us what our deepest desires are. If God has control over our desires and He places them in our hearts, then we should search our deepest desires for direction. Just as in the picture above where a red flower has grown in the center of the trees between the two paths, God is at the center of our being. When we have feelings that are joyful, satisfying, fulfilling that gives us life coming from this core, then we know with no uncertainty those are from God. The choices in life that produce these feelings within that center are from God. This, my friends, leads us to the path aligned with the will of God.

What happens if I choose the other path, the path of my will? Will I be struck down by lightening? Will God be disappointed in me? By no means will God bring wrath upon you or discontent. There are no wrong paths as long as they do not involve sin. God will walk with you no matter the path. A wise person told me the flower in the middle of the path can also represent that God will bring fruition on both paths, whichever we choose.

Why discern if God will bring fruition upon either path? I think it is important to search and make the best choice. Perhaps in doing so, one will bring more joy and peace in fulfilling the will of God and the other less. One will be more life giving than the other, yet God is still present in both.

As you discern your life choices, don’t forget to include God in your discernment. Don’t forget to search deep within to identify with your deepest desire and ponder the feelings that bring exuberant life.