Be Happy; you are blessed

 August 27, 2024

Hi!  How is each and every one?  Do you ever get to count your blessings?  Do you ever catch yourself smiling and uttering the words ‘love mo ako talaga, Lord!’ I forgot now what happened that I was having fun with Our Lord telling Him over and over again that ‘love niya ako’. Episodes like this happen often but also many other opposite episodes happen as often. I don’t remember though having uttered the negative when things don’t happen the way I want. At times I remember St. Teresa’s words addressed to Our Lord, “It is no wonder you have few friends.”

Now I am problematic; I don’t remember any of those episodes. Usually it happens when appointments are made and done; plans are facilitated and provided for; persons respond without any fuss; whenever I feel His provident care; His prompt response. When I am still thinking of something and it is already realized, I get to utter, ‘Ang bilis mo naman, Lord.’ Or I feel like a spoiled brat or I sing ‘Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.  Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could. So somewhere in my youth or childhood I must have done something good.’  I am sure similar things happen to you as well. Indeed, God is a God of surprises, as Pope Francis would say.  It is fun being crazy at times or most of the time?

Let’s get on to business, okay.  Following is the conclusion of this chapter on Our Divine Longing for Dignity (From Broken Gods, Hope, Healing, and the Seven Longings of the Human Heart, Gregory K. Popcak, Ph. D. Ch 5).

Satisfying the Divine Longing for Dignity:  An Exercise

Pray

Lord Jesus Christ,              

It is so hard for me to see others enjoying the things that I want.  I pray, Lord, that you will satisfy all the desires of my heart and help me to be open to the ways you would like to fulfill my deepest longings.  While I wait, help me to practice kindness.  Help me to pull out of my own pain, frustration, and bitterness and actively look for the simple ways I can be a blessing to others.  Help me to know that my dignity is not won or lost by achieving things but from being loved by you and sharing that love with others.  In Jesus’s name,  Amen.

COAL:  Fuel for Change

As you consider ways to better satisfy your divine longing for dignity, take a moment to think about how COAL might be your fuel for change.

CURIOSITY AND OPENNESS

Ask yourself: Where did I learn that my worth depended upon keeping up with those around me?

Who taught me to think this way about myself?        

What situation impressed this lesson on me?

Do I want to continue to allow these experiences to rule my life?

Do not judge or edit yourself.  Receive your answers in a spirit of openness and grace.

ACCEPTANCE                                                                                  

Say, “These are the experiences that have shaped my struggle to satisfy my divine longing for dignity.  I accept my past even as I accept God’s call to change and grow.”

LOVE

Loving myself means working to become the person God wants me to be.  I know that I can fulfill my deepest longing for dignity only by being kind to those around me, especially those who may be better off than I am.

Ask yourself:  In those times when I feel jealous or resentful, what would it look like to display kindness where I currently exhibit envy?

What obstacles would I have to overcome to achieve this goal?

What help, resources, or support might I need to overcome these obstacles?

Say, “I will love myself and accept God’s love for me by choosing this path of kindness over the temptation to envy.”

Review these loving resolutions each morning. Imagine a time in the coming day when you might be tempted to envy.  Imagine responding instead with kindness.  Ask for God’s help to remember this more loving response in those times when you are being tempted to give in to those jealous impulses.

Practicing Kindness:  Action items

If you are struggling with envy and would like to discover how you can begin to satisfy your divine longing for dignity, consider the following questions:

Think of a time when someone was particularly kind to you.  How did it make you feel?

What could you do this week to make someone feel similarly cherished by you?

Make a list of twenty-five simple things you could do to make the lives of those around you easier or more pleasant.

The Divine Longing for Dignity:  A Promise

God wants you to know how much you are worth, not because of what you have or what you have accomplished, but simply because he loves you.  On those days when you feel like you are not enough, or that you will never be enough, know that none of that matters.  Resist the envy you feel with all your heart and call out to God.  Ask him to help you see yourself through his eyes.  Breathe in his love. Rest in that love.  Then celebrate the fact that you are loved more than all the stars in the universe, more than all the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, by sharing that love through a small act of kindness performed for someone who needs a similar reminder of their true worth.  Be the person who inspires others to flourish just by being in your presence.

Aren’t you happy to know and realize or experience the above ideas?  Reflect on those ideas and cherish them in your heart and mind.  Talk to God about them in your moments of conversation/prayer with Him.  Oh and not only at those moments but all throughout the day when you live the day aware that He is there with you, doing the things with you.  He is always active and connected and on line with you with or without internet connection.  Fantastic, isn’t it?  Try nurturing this scenario in your daily life and you will see how it works.  The scenario of living in the presence of God every day 24/7 as we would say and hear.  When you reflect on the above ideas and things that happen to you every moment of the day, you will be happy and awed; because you realize how good God is and how much He loves you and blesses you.

See you in the next post, “May tomorrow be a perfect day; may you find love and laughter along the way; may God keep you in his tender care; ‘til He brings us together again.”

 Affectionately,                    

Guadalupinky