theROCK

Love Like Jesus

I learned a while back, through experiences with a counselor, that the adage that you hurt the ones you love the most is because you know that they will love you no matter what you do. When you love someone enough that they feel comfortable throwing every mean and nasty thing your direction, it plays out like a backwards compliment. That person feels safe with you. This is what it means to be Jesus. Love hurts. For as much as we love God/Jesus, we also are the source of tremendous hurt. Thank goodness God never stops loving us or caring for us in the way that we may stop loving or caring about those who hurt us. That is the power of God’s unconditional love and mercy. Love like Jesus.

And in your trials, praise the Lord, adore Him, praise Him, and if you are capable of praising Him in your trials, then He will solve your problems. This is the meaning of the Our Father: we are children and the Father does everything if we abandon ourselves to Him as little children. ~Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, spiritual counselor to the visionaries of Medjugorie

Relationships

How do our relationships with others also reflect our relationship with God?
As I pondered this question, my mind went to the work that goes into maintaining relationships. When people matter, we work to stay connected to them. I think about my family and my friendships. I am intentional about connecting with them. I have a reminder in my phone to call my mom so that I don't take her for granted. My brothers and I have a date with our families on the calendar every month so that we don't neglect each other. My husband and I make plans with our close friends frequently so that we don't lose touch. I make it a point to visit every classroom every day. If I miss this, I am disappointed in myself. Clearly, these relationships are all important to me so I put the energy in. If I understand this question correctly, the energy that I put into these relationships should be equal to the energy I put into my relationship with God.

I would have to say that my relationships with others is a reflection of my relationship with God. I connect with Him daily and sometimes more than once. If I do fall short, I am disappointed in myself and quickly make up for it. I learned early on that God always has time for me, He died for me, how bold am I not to even give Him a moment of my day in gratitude. He is the reason for my living. He is the reason for all that I have. I owe it to Him to pay a visit, give a call, spend some time. How about you?

Just Be

As I was driving to do some volunteer work last Friday afternoon, I had Relevant Radio on. I occasionally listen to this station to unclutter from the noise of typical news/talk radio. It serves as a mini retreat from time to time. My favorite show to catch is with Drew Mariani. While I was listening, a question was posed for consideration: What would it be like at your house if Jesus came to dinner?

This is always a fun one for me to ponder. I have had varying responses based on my state of life. One thing I know for sure, it would be very interesting. Let’s just pretend that the arrival was unannounced/unplanned, He just showed up. This would cause me to have great anxiety. At my core, I am very much like the character of Martha in the gospels. She is the one who, while Jesus is visiting their home, is scurrying about making sure everything is perfect. A surprise visit doesn’t allow for planning, and I would be fretting that not everything is perfect. Knowing myself, I would be instantly aware of every little thing out of place and try to subtly fix it. I would depend on my husband to entertain Jesus until I could get situated; offer a beverage, a bite to eat, what will we do for dinner? Then, it would hit me – I have Jesus in my house!

I would like to think that I’d shift into Mary mode, dutifully listening and hanging on His every word, once I had the chance to dote on our Lord a bit. In being able to focus on the fact that Jesus was in my house, I would not have the faintest idea what we’d talk about since He already knows everything. I would like to think we would simply be our normal selves. I would like to think that would be why He came to visit us – to meet us where we are. This is what we try to do at St. Dominic Catholic School as we welcome every Knight, every day. We all come with so much in our hearts and on our minds that we hope the time spent in these halls are a time to allow children to just be. No pressure. No worry. Just be. We also strive to provide an environment that intentionally provides opportunity to connect with Jesus. No pressure. No worry. Just be.

Thank you for having faith in us. Thank you for having hope and trust in the work we do. Thank you for being partners with us. Thank you for being here.