I realize at times I keep getting the same ‘message’ from God but in different forms…and I wonder if that is because He is trying to figure out the best way for me to ‘hear’ Him or if He is impressing upon me that not only do I just need to hear His message but ACT upon it as well! Yesterday at Mass Deacon Ed gave a moving homily on the need for prayer and he broke down the Our Father. What hit me the most was when he explained how when Christ instructed us to pray ‘give us this day our daily bread’ that truly in that time all they needed was what it took to be fed daily. Had they received any more than what their family could eat they did not have the capacity to store food items the way we do so it would only go bad. This caught my attention for many reasons, mainly because I had heard another sermon from one of my favorite preachers on the very same subject only a few days before.
Both men led me to this inner peace in recognizing that God will provide what we need daily as He provides for all of His creatures. As I mentioned in the beginning, I heard this message and I accepted it, allowing it to be a reminder in giving me a bit of peace and comfort in knowing He will provide our basic needs.
However, today in my guided meditation book (ironically titled “My Daily Bread”) the passage said ‘let nothing please you except Me alone, your hope, your eternal salvation. Daily look for Me above all things. I alone am the Giver of true peace and everlasting happiness.’ Then in morning Mass Fr. T.J. spoke about why Christ gave messages in parables and that during the time of Christ they could correlate better His way of explaining heaven and divinity through stories that reflected their daily life. I thought about this consistent message from God to pray constantly, to trust that He is providing in all my basic needs and to daily look for Him above all things and I realize that even though I am hearing the message and the message gives me peace and comfort that He is encouraging me in this journey of actively taking part in ‘showing up’ for Him and seeing Him above all things, even the mundane.
It reminds me of being in front of my soon to be twelve-year-old and wonder if he is really listening…so I snap a finger in front of his face, “Hey, I know you hear me but are you listening? Will you do as I asked?” And then he finally looks at me, the dazed look gone from his eyes and he smiles, “Yes, mom, yes I heard you and yes I’ll do ask you asked.”
“Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:9
Blessings
Shannon