The Less Glamorous, the more Holy!

Gospel Reading today Luke 13:22-30
"Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

If you were in line to meet God with hundreds of others, where do you believe you would fall in place.  Towards the front or the back?  Say you were next to a woman from NYC who was outfitted straight from Barney's with a very high paying job, a high rise in Manhattan and a vacation home in Paris.  She had children but had her beloved "Nanny" who took care of them most of the time.  Then you were next to a mother who lived a very simple humble life.  She worked day in and day out to care for her family, exhausted by the end of the day.  She worked tirelessly for the sake of others and didn't yearn to feed her soul with the things of the world but with the things from above.  She focused her days on changing diapers, sweeping floors, doing dishes, putting up laundry, taking kids to school or schooling them herself, taking a loaf of bread to the neighbors and preparing meals to feed her flock.  She would sit for a few moments throughout the day to recharge her batteries through prayer, simple prayers...such as "Lord, give me strength to do my best this day to serve my family." Then on the otherside, you have a single mother who works two jobs to provide her children with food, shelter and clothing.  She doesn't have an ounce of energy left at the end of the day after providing and caring for her family and home.  She falls to her knees at night and begs the Lord to somehow provide with her little income.  All through the day, she is lifting up "cries of the poor and hopeless" while trying to raise good children in this corrupt world.   


No matter where you fall in line, the most important thing to remember is that we have ONE audience that we should be working for.  Some choose to work for the audience of society while others work for the audience of Heaven.  And the women who provide the basic needs for their family, they can't even think about what audience they are working for...they are just trying to survive.  However, their works are being lifted to the highest calling...taking care of the family.  The ones who choose to work for society, family is put on the back burner.  This is a very dangerous choice, for family is the vital cell of society.  If the family is put on the back burner, so is Heaven and the souls that are to be prepared for eternal life.  Lately, I have been thinking alot about hard work.  Hard work is from God.  Doesn't feel so good when you fall into bed at night after putting in a day of honest, hard work?  This is being lost in today's society.  The goal of most people is how much less can I work for more pay?  This is one of the MANY downfalls of our society in the current times.  No body want to work hard!  Women are leaving the home and their children in the care of others because it is just too hard!  College graduates refuse to take minimum wage jobs to slowly work their way up because they "de-serve" a high paying career, bi golly!  No body wants to do the nitty-gritty, "no-frills" work when in all actuality that is where the keys are to the Kingdom of God.  It is in the tough, hard work, no praise, exhausting duties that our salvation depends on.  So, therefore moms, roll up your sleeves, get tough and embrace the "hard as hell" work that we do day in and day out.  Don't look for thumbs up and pats on the back because the only audience that matters clearly see every move you make.  And when you are standing in that line someday, are you going to be rewarded for the frilly days of life or the dog days of life? Look to the women of the past and how hard they worked and find encouragement through their lives.  Most days they worked hard to put food on the table.....from gathering eggs, to catching a chicken to kill and prepare for supper that night (my grandmother did this!), to washing clothes by hand, to cleaning their homes THEMSELVES, to raising kids.  They were tough and you didn't hear any whines and cries from them.  They did what they had to do.


So today, take a look around at what you do daily and see where you fall into line.  Are you searching for the easy way out or are you rolling up your sleeves and doing as society sees as the "dirty work"of homemaking/child rearing.  It is not glamorous by no means but rejoice that it is not glamorous....that means you are climbing the "Corporate Ladder" of Heaven.  The less glamorous, the more Holy!


Blessings to you this Wednesday!

THE KEY TO HAPPINESS.....

Today's First Reading Ephesians 4:7-16
"So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ." Ephesians 4:14-15

I loved this reading this morning and had to write a quick meditation.  I have a quiet home for the moment but on my way to a soccer game! My question for you this morning is do you feel "tossed to and fro"? I am witnessing it more and more .....mothers that are tossed to and fro from what Christ calls us to do and what the world coveys we "need" to do.  Speaking the truth and acting on truth is getting harder and harder in today's society.  With each day through prayer and conversation with God, I see it clearer and clearer.  We mothers/women have to be strong, get tough and answer the call.  We have to step down from this "ME" mentality and give ourselves as Christ calls us to do.  The key to happiness is quite simple.  While people are lost, being tossed to and fro, searching for the meaning of true happiness, the answer is so simple.  SERVING OTHERS is truly the key to happiness.  While so many are out serving themselves and saying "what is in it for me", going to counselors, seeking materialism, this little secret is in their midst and they don't even know it.  When a person digs deep, rolls up her sleeves, does the "dirty work" as we mothers do daily, and serves others gently and lovingly, all of the sudden the weight of the world is lifted. You start to have a skip in your step and you start to smile a little more.  What is this feeling I have inside of me that feels so good?  It is Heaven's JOY, love and grace descending upon you for all the good works you are providing for others.  God is a simple God and desires for us a simple and humble life.  It is our world that has made trying to find the key to happiness so complicated.  It is the mother tucked inside the walls of her home constantly serving her family, picking up things around the house, cleaning the messes and creating a loving and cheerful environment for her family ....it is this very place where the Angels want to dwell.  Where Heaven descends and transforms the ordinary into extraordinary.  It is this very place where the souls are developed for Eternity and a mothers heart grow in her conversion.  Miracles take place in these simple places where a heart serves endlessly for the Kingdom of God.

So my advice to all mothers this morning who are weary and tired of carrying the heavy loads of toddlers, the home and the same old, same old......you are in the very place where Angels dwell!  You are not missing out on the ones who are searching for happiness while being "tossed to and fro" in the crowds of Nordstroms or the group of women who think they "de-serve" (can't stand that word) a girls day at the Spa sipping on champagne and being served.  Yes that is all fun and great but it is NOT the key to happiness as the world tells us.  Rest in knowing you are exactly where you are suppose to be in God's plan.  Why would a person want anything else then Heaven's design?  True happiness is right in your midst so get a new attitude (I  have to tell myself this weekly) and embrace the servant's heart that dwells inside of you.....when you do this you will feel the giant hug of Jesus and feel a feeling you have never felt before......a dose of "happy medicine" from Heaven!