“The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51:17
When I was meditating on Psalm 51 a few months ago, I had a hard time with this verse. I didn’t like the idea of being “broken,” until God inspired me to take a deeper look at “brokenness.”
A broken spirit is one that has submitted its will to the will of another, like when a horse is broken and trained to do what its master wants. This involves a relationship of trust. The horse needs to learn to trust the master and to accept that the master is in charge.
To have a broken spirit, I need to submit my will to God. I need to pray as Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but thine be done.” I also need to trust that God is in control and that he wants what is best for me.
Brokenness in this sense does not mean to damage something so that it is no longer useful, like when a glass is broken. Rather, the opposite is true. A horse that is not broken is not useful for anything, because it cannot be controlled. A broken horse, on the other hand, can be trained to do all sorts of useful things.
In the same way, God cannot use me until I am “broken,” until I submit to Him and allow Him to use me as He wills. Once I learn to trust Him and submit to Him, He can do great things in and through me.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Letting Go
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:19-21)
These verses from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount pretty much sum up my life for the past few months, as God teaches me about letting go and trusting in Him. I have always tended to be a keeper. I don’t think I’ve ever reached the point of being a hoarder, but I definitely tend to hang onto things much longer than I should, especially if they have any sentimental value.
Now that we are preparing to downsize and move into an apartment, I’ve had to re-evaluate my attachment to things. I’ve had to let go and get rid of a lot of stuff.
Something that a friend posted on Facebook a few months ago helped me to see a different aspect of letting go. She was getting ready to move and was having trouble letting go of some of her things because of the memories connected with them. One thing she said really helped me: “If we are lucky enough, we will watch them go out our front door and be part of another family’s home where that family can start a history, have stories and laughter as well.”
The idea that others would be blessed made the pain of letting go of treasured possessions much easier to bear. In fact, I’ve found this whole process of letting go to be very freeing. I’ve tried to think of people who could probably use the things I was getting rid of: dollhouse furniture and craft items to a cousin with two granddaughters; homeschooling resources to other homeschooling moms; bookcases and photo paper to a cousin who does photography; and Legos and Duplos to our parish school.
Letting go of my kids’ drawings and craft projects has been a little more challenging, since I’ve had to trash a lot of those. I’ve saved a few things to scan into my computer, but most of the stuff has gone into the recycling bin. Even though it’s hard to see them go, looking through all those treasures has been a wonderful trip down memory lane.
The hardest thing for me to let go of is my attachment to people. I love the parish that we are in now, and I have made many friends here over the years. It’s going to be really hard to say goodbye to them. However, I trust that God will provide another wonderful parish and many new friends. Also, thanks to modern technology, I’ll still be able to keep up with my family and friends after we move.
Ever since Bob and I got married, he has talked about moving to Texas. He spent some time there as a teenager and really liked it. I pretty much swore that I’d never move to Texas. I wanted to be near my family and friends, not halfway across the country where I was sure I would never see them again.
I’m slowly learning, though, that it doesn’t matter where you live, as long as it’s where God has called you to be. I feel that God is calling us to make this move to Texas, so I trust Him to provide for us as we follow his lead. As long as I can still keep in touch with my family and I have access to the Sacraments, that is all I could ask for. I’m hoping to focus on laying up treasures in heaven, rather than accumulating more stuff.
So, in about a month, I’ll be saying, “Goodbye, PA” and “Hello, Temple, Texas”! Please keep our family in your prayers as we make this big move.
These verses from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount pretty much sum up my life for the past few months, as God teaches me about letting go and trusting in Him. I have always tended to be a keeper. I don’t think I’ve ever reached the point of being a hoarder, but I definitely tend to hang onto things much longer than I should, especially if they have any sentimental value.
Now that we are preparing to downsize and move into an apartment, I’ve had to re-evaluate my attachment to things. I’ve had to let go and get rid of a lot of stuff.
Something that a friend posted on Facebook a few months ago helped me to see a different aspect of letting go. She was getting ready to move and was having trouble letting go of some of her things because of the memories connected with them. One thing she said really helped me: “If we are lucky enough, we will watch them go out our front door and be part of another family’s home where that family can start a history, have stories and laughter as well.”
The idea that others would be blessed made the pain of letting go of treasured possessions much easier to bear. In fact, I’ve found this whole process of letting go to be very freeing. I’ve tried to think of people who could probably use the things I was getting rid of: dollhouse furniture and craft items to a cousin with two granddaughters; homeschooling resources to other homeschooling moms; bookcases and photo paper to a cousin who does photography; and Legos and Duplos to our parish school.
Letting go of my kids’ drawings and craft projects has been a little more challenging, since I’ve had to trash a lot of those. I’ve saved a few things to scan into my computer, but most of the stuff has gone into the recycling bin. Even though it’s hard to see them go, looking through all those treasures has been a wonderful trip down memory lane.
The hardest thing for me to let go of is my attachment to people. I love the parish that we are in now, and I have made many friends here over the years. It’s going to be really hard to say goodbye to them. However, I trust that God will provide another wonderful parish and many new friends. Also, thanks to modern technology, I’ll still be able to keep up with my family and friends after we move.
Ever since Bob and I got married, he has talked about moving to Texas. He spent some time there as a teenager and really liked it. I pretty much swore that I’d never move to Texas. I wanted to be near my family and friends, not halfway across the country where I was sure I would never see them again.
I’m slowly learning, though, that it doesn’t matter where you live, as long as it’s where God has called you to be. I feel that God is calling us to make this move to Texas, so I trust Him to provide for us as we follow his lead. As long as I can still keep in touch with my family and I have access to the Sacraments, that is all I could ask for. I’m hoping to focus on laying up treasures in heaven, rather than accumulating more stuff.
So, in about a month, I’ll be saying, “Goodbye, PA” and “Hello, Temple, Texas”! Please keep our family in your prayers as we make this big move.
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