The above was our responsorial psalm this past Sunday, and it stuck with me. I've heard that verse how many hundreds of times? But this Sunday the import of that second part hit me full force: "who made heaven and earth."
Think of that kind of power: the ability to make everything in heaven and earth. And that's our help? "Of whom should we be afraid," indeed!
I started pondering where I could use some help. How can avail myself of God's help?
You may well laugh at this, but do you know what my greatest cross is? I'm a lousy housekeeper. I've joked about it before, but I'm quite serious. Beside more compelling challenges like, say, facial deformity or the loss of a child, it's really a pitiful cross. It's worthy of derision, even disgust. "Your cross is that you have a decent place to live, and you can't seem to keep your carpets clean, your dishes done, and your laundry folded? And you don't even have children? How pathetic."
Nonetheless, it is my cross. St. Therese of Lisieux would likely tell me to rejoice in how little and ugly a cross it is. I'm trying. I'm trying.
But speaking of trying, I don't seem to be getting that far carrying it all on my own. I don't ask that God take this cross away from me, but maybe he can help me make a little forward progress if I struggle along with his help instead of merely under my own power? Help me keep this place in at least decent enough order that I don't have nightmares (literally) about someone visiting when I'm not home? Enough that I can have friends or family to visit without days of preparation?
I'm pretty sure He's up to the challenge.
I like your new blog. Good writing.
ReplyDeleteTalk about good housekeeping. Take a look at the shop photo on my latest post on my blog. Imagine when I lived by myself most of that stuff was in my dining room, a complete VOR station was in my back living room and enough to build an a.m. radio station in the living room. Now my kitchen was and is kept spotless.
What's kind of funny and kind of not: Saturday morning I steeled myself for battle, and decided to start with the floor. I plugged in the vacuum cleaner and turned it on, and it immediately made a bad noise and a worse smell and stopped working.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure there's a lesson in that, but I'm still working out what it is! Maybe that although it's not a bad thing to be a good steward of my house and my possessions, there are bigger fish to fry?