Monday, February 6, 2012

God Doesn't Demand Anything, We Do!

Please, especially over the next 24 hours, keep my special intention in your prayers.  It would be most appreciated.

I was raised by a sometimes austere father who did not accept failure of any kind from me.  A valuable lesson he taught me early on was never to take the easy road when I could take the more difficult path.  I can, to this day, hear him tell me: " A quitter never wins and a winner never quits."  Later, when I went to high school and thought that algebra and chemistry were going to be the death of me, he not only encouraged me to hang in there, he expected me to excel.  And when I got to college and could choose my professors, my father, a high-school drop-out, advised me to take the more difficult courses with the more difficult professors.

"What good is an A if it's practically given away?  Better to get a B and have really worked for it and learned something."

My dad, who is still with us and is a lot less austere than he was in those days, has obviously had an impact on my life.  The last year has been a difficult one for me and after some introspection and time before the Blessed Sacrament, I see now that a lot of the demands that have left me exhausted were not of God's doing but my own in a misguided attempt to serve Him.

For reasons that I will one day talk about when the time is right, I have never had the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom except for brief periods of time here and there.  If I could live my life over, I would do it so differently, but we only get one shot, so the best I can do is thank God for leading me where He has and do my best to continue to serve Him without killing myself in the process.  I sometimes heard the words of my dear Father Jim telling me: "Christ does NOT want you running yourself ragged for Him."

What one mother does for 6 children, 6 children will never do for her.   So it is with God.  We can never repay Him and He doesn't expect that of us.  He only asks for our love and our gratitude.  And I can certainly give those to Him without making my life unnecessarily unpleasant and difficult.

I have some work to finish before I move on to my next conquest.  God, in His wisdom, endowed me with a sensitive nature that simultaneously recoils from harsh, cruel people while seeking to protect weaker people from their bullying.   I have achieved such a sense of peace since accepting that God wasn't demanding any of the things from me that I thought He was.

He appreciates everything I do for Him.  As St. Therese reminds us, " God does not look at the greatness of our acts but the love with which we do them."


10 comments:

  1. Keeping you in my prayers! My dad was very much the same, demanding perfection and excellence. That wasn't always easy and does shape how you view life as an adult.

    I always try to read you in the morning before I start my day. You help us to see how we need to be which is why I thought of you immediately when I had to choose my Versatile Bloggers. No matter what, you always take a time out to analyze the situation and think of what you should do, that reminds us to do the same. Your current post was a perfect example of why I chose you for this. You remind us "God does not look at the greatness of our acts but the love with which we do them."

    You can go over to my site, Moving On To The Past, to receive your award. Thank you again. http://movingontothepast.blogspot.com/2012/02/versatile-blogger-award-and-awardees.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Kathy, you are always so kind to me, my blogger "next-door-neighbor". I will be sure to take a look and thank you again.
      Joyce

      Delete
  2. Joyce, You are in my prayers..This has been a difficult lesson for me to learn as well..and recently the Lord seems to be having me review this in my own life. Blessings and +

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I will keep you in mine, as always Caroline.
      Love
      Joyce

      Delete
  3. Joyce, this is wonderful! I am so happy for you that you are now more at peace. I think you are definitely onto something with your new approach. (I think Therese has been praying for you : )

    Going to adoration shortly, and will definitely remember your special intention there and at Mass.

    Love and hugs,
    Patricia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Patricia, your prayers are much appreciated.
      A big hug back
      Joyce

      Delete
  4. Hi Joyce,

    I love that quote by St. Therese! It makes sense that He would be more interested in our motives rather than the outcome. I will keep you in my prayers as you work through what's on your heart.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Noreen, your prayers and your kind presence are much appreciated.
      Blessings
      Joyce

      Delete
  5. I've been away for work and trying to catch up. Your blogs are a must read for me. My father was actually the opposite with my mother being the hard one. I love your analogy of six children to one mother. That is brilliant. We all experience hurt in life and with God's grace that hurt gets healed. One of my prayers includes the line "Jesus, heal us with your touch."

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks Manny, that's very kind of you. I'm glad you find what I write helpful. I was thinking today how I need all of my readers to remind me of what I wrote a few months from now when I forget my own advice.
    Deal?

    ReplyDelete

Comments which reflect true Christian charity are always welcome. Comments which attack the Pope, the Church, priests or other bloggers will go in the dustbin, especially if they are anonymous. Thank you and God Bless you!