I missed Guadete Sunday at church. I was too sick to attend Mass. Two weeks after taking care of my daughter, who is immune suppressed, who had taken ill with a nastier than normal cold, I felt the first inklings that I might be coming down with the same virus. She was very sick for two weeks. Now she is just sick. I think I am moving into the just sick stage of this virus, but I'm not sure.
It doesn't matter. The fact is I am sick and reduced to only being able to be out of bed for short periods of time to take care of necessities. The virus is so tiny, yet, it disables me almost completely.
There is so little time left before Christmas. I can feel my anxieties rising as I think about what needs to be done before the kids come home, and how quickly Advent has flown by. My hope had been to draw closer to God through this time of preparation. Now, I'm stuck in bed with a box of Kleenex at my side, a cup of lemon, garlic and honey tea waiting to be ingested, and a 60 + pound dog feeling the need to cuddle with me and hog the bed. She does love to comfort me, though.
I am not where I wanted to be at this time. As I have laid in bed hacking, coughing and sneezing, I finally asked the question, "This might not be where I want to be, but where does God want me to be?"
God gives us the graces we need at the right time. Could this sojourn in bed be what God is asking of me for now? Does He need my small sacrifices from the discomfort and inconvenience of this cold for His greater purposes? Does He need for me not to be distracted by the events and activities that would otherwise consume my time if I were well and on the go?
Does He need to get my attention in order to open my heart and soul to Him and His ways, not my ways?
Most likely, all of the above, and maybe more.
It doesn't matter. The fact is I am sick and reduced to only being able to be out of bed for short periods of time to take care of necessities. The virus is so tiny, yet, it disables me almost completely.
There is so little time left before Christmas. I can feel my anxieties rising as I think about what needs to be done before the kids come home, and how quickly Advent has flown by. My hope had been to draw closer to God through this time of preparation. Now, I'm stuck in bed with a box of Kleenex at my side, a cup of lemon, garlic and honey tea waiting to be ingested, and a 60 + pound dog feeling the need to cuddle with me and hog the bed. She does love to comfort me, though.
I am not where I wanted to be at this time. As I have laid in bed hacking, coughing and sneezing, I finally asked the question, "This might not be where I want to be, but where does God want me to be?"
God gives us the graces we need at the right time. Could this sojourn in bed be what God is asking of me for now? Does He need my small sacrifices from the discomfort and inconvenience of this cold for His greater purposes? Does He need for me not to be distracted by the events and activities that would otherwise consume my time if I were well and on the go?
Does He need to get my attention in order to open my heart and soul to Him and His ways, not my ways?
Most likely, all of the above, and maybe more.
Then I remember:
God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son.
What a sentence for meditation!
God so loved the world! He doesn't just love me or you, but the entire world!
He gave us His ONLY begotten Son.
His only Son!
Jesus, the God-man, having both a divine nature and a human nature.
God walking on earth, breathing our air!
A man born to die so that we might live!
A king who would be betrayed by those He loved, sentenced to die a death reserved for the lowest of the low, a king who willingly accepted this sacrifice for love of us.
So, we wait for the King of Kings who should have been born in the finest castle, with the most beautiful crib and blankets. Yet, He was born in a stable, cold and hungry, wrapped in the swaddling clothes that his parents could afford.
God the Father knows when to keep a secret. He also knows those whom He can trust, so He sent His angels to proclaim the good news, not to Caesar, not to Herod, not to any leaders of the known world. He sent His angels to proclaim the birth of His Son to the outcasts of society, the shepherds! He told them of His love for world, and they rushed over to adore the new born King.
Would we have been included in this proclamation? Most likely, not. As did most of Bethlehem that night, we would have slept through His birth. Later, we might have seen Him with His parents in the marketplace, and we might have cooed at Him, but would we have bowed down in adoration of our King?
We were blessed with this knowledge of our King, our God. Now, even though Advent has rushed by us, again, we still have time to walk through the glorious mystery of His birth. Are we down to ten days before Christmas? It's a short walk through the streets of Bethlehem. Let us rush to His empty manger and prepare to adore our newborn King.
God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son.
What a sentence for meditation!
God so loved the world! He doesn't just love me or you, but the entire world!
He gave us His ONLY begotten Son.
His only Son!
Jesus, the God-man, having both a divine nature and a human nature.
God walking on earth, breathing our air!
A man born to die so that we might live!
A king who would be betrayed by those He loved, sentenced to die a death reserved for the lowest of the low, a king who willingly accepted this sacrifice for love of us.
So, we wait for the King of Kings who should have been born in the finest castle, with the most beautiful crib and blankets. Yet, He was born in a stable, cold and hungry, wrapped in the swaddling clothes that his parents could afford.
God the Father knows when to keep a secret. He also knows those whom He can trust, so He sent His angels to proclaim the good news, not to Caesar, not to Herod, not to any leaders of the known world. He sent His angels to proclaim the birth of His Son to the outcasts of society, the shepherds! He told them of His love for world, and they rushed over to adore the new born King.
Would we have been included in this proclamation? Most likely, not. As did most of Bethlehem that night, we would have slept through His birth. Later, we might have seen Him with His parents in the marketplace, and we might have cooed at Him, but would we have bowed down in adoration of our King?
We were blessed with this knowledge of our King, our God. Now, even though Advent has rushed by us, again, we still have time to walk through the glorious mystery of His birth. Are we down to ten days before Christmas? It's a short walk through the streets of Bethlehem. Let us rush to His empty manger and prepare to adore our newborn King.
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