No idea

Butterball is snoring...how cute.

DECEMBER 23RD - the big day. Come to think of it, we have a lot of those days...days that played an especially important role in our coming together...days that, had they never happened, would remain devoid of the memories we shared with each other.

Last year, he made it my day. He didn't have to go to the trouble to put it all together. We were just friends and I was planning on keeping it that way. But my ways are not God's ways and God had a different agenda that Gary somehow got clued in to.

I was nervous because I didn't know what to expect. I had a catch-up dinner with Leo a few days before, telling him that this guy Gary was taking me to see Les Mis. Leo wouldn't leave me alone about it, at least for that night. He made me promise him that I'd call to tell him how it went. I rolled my eyes and said we were just hanging out. "He so likes you...hello, I wouldn't take just anyone to see Les Mis!" Those were his exact words. Yes, that's why Leo was always excited to watch this relationship progress...why? Because he was right.

And the rest is history.

Over the past week or two, I've been struggling with a lot of things. Something very unexpected came up that made me question the last three years of my life and some of the decisions I've made because of the path that was set for me. It honestly had an almost Twighlight Zone-ish tone for me because I started having vivid flashbacks that brought the past back into the present.

God had hit reverse playback and made me watch everything backwards, bringing me back to the sword in my heart and the 5-day Rivendell experience that led me into discernment then the disheartening lupus diagnosis the following February. For brief moments, I felt the joy and the heartbreak...the anguish and disappointment along with the hope that I would grow because of it all. I remember wishing - er, praying - that I could erase it all and start over as if none of it ever happened.

In some strange way, there may be a possibility that God might be granting my request.

But I have to wait.

I have to wait for His will to unfold...a very mysterious outcome resulting from a desperate cry made on the other side of the world in many a Polish cathedral.

I'll never forget the journey, but its effects...perhaps gone...at least the broken pieces, swept up and made whole again. How often have I spoken of the need for healing...I just wanted to meet the "someday" when I would be okay...when my smile would return...when my faith would break through once again.

Thoughts and emotions have been whirling around inside of me...slowly coming back to the desire for holiness for the sake of those around me who need a light to follow. Almost felt like I was going crazy, so I sought refuge as I did years ago. I'm returning to Rivendell.

I need to pray. I need to remember. Maybe I do need to feel it all again, for so much is attached to that place. I have brought those I loved most to visit with me, and they too have their memories of brown habits and the serenity of Carmel.

This time, I will not go telling Jesus of my own will. I will listen to what He has in store for me.

But before I go, I will spend this day - our day - with the man I have grown to love, who has been sent into my life as an answer to prayers offered up by those who loved me most...the one who will help me carry my cross and share the blessing that it truly is, whether it be one of illness or one of uncompromising faith.

My vision...it is still foggy but the rays of light are beginning to shine through. In time, in HIS time.

Jesus, I trust in You.

+AMDG+

For a moment

Life just happens as it's supposed to. Sometimes you make good choices, sometimes you don't. People come and go, and you come and go in and out of people's lives. You win some, you lose some...but at least you learn something.

I think the objective is to get to the point where you're grateful for it all...for what you had, what you have now, and what you will have in the future. There's no one else in this world who has the opportunity to live the life that you do.

Even if your life doesn't seem all that great, you still have more blessings than many others out there. Just walk down Skid Row...even for just a couple of blocks...and you'll see what I mean.

That's what I did yesterday...and it really hit home.

You can't save everyone, but for a moment you can be the sunshine in their day. I watched Mark Anthony, Hernan, David, and Eloy subject themselves to having wet sponges thrown at their faces just so the little ones could have a good time...Anthony carrying a tiny two-year-old up to the basket so he could make a slam dunk at the hoops booth...Joshua walking kids around on ponies around Gladys Park...the crew going out into the streets to give the homeless some water and clothing.

Like John said, that was a reality check for us. I was so proud of the 25 guys who worked hard to bring a little Verb sunshine to the Christmas Festival down there on E. 6th St. in Downtown. Little do they know how much they help me face the world with courage. They help me open my heart up to those who I would never ordinarily talk to. They challenge me and make me laugh, and they go out of their way to take care of me, too.

I call them my kids...but they're Yours first, Father God. Thank you for sending them into my life to teach me what faith, hope and love really is.

"Spiritual constipation"

...as the term has been coined by a friend of mine who will admit to the world that he is weird...yet by this very term which I once laughed at has described exactly when I am feeling right at this very moment.

I started to write a really long random blog that was making absolutely no sense, and I deleted it after I came to the conclusion that it read like God needed to shoot some Imodium in my system because it splattered all over the place.

Inappropriate visual graphic, I know. I'm sorry...

But you know what? It just hit me that I'm not ever going to be a cookie-cutter saint. I'm here struggling along with everyone else, making mistakes...learning from them...getting down on myself because my life isn't easy but realizing that life isn't easy for anyone.

People who look like they have it all together just know how to hide their insecurities really well.

Raising my hand...yes, that was me...until a few years ago.

A detailed run-through of my recent past isn't necessary for you to understand that I now know I'm not who people thought I was or wanted me to be. I've had my own share of hurts, but I will tell you that I've also been a cause of pain...a contributor to frustration and misunderstanding...someone who was blind to the fact that my actions unintentionally damaged the trust, hope, and faith that others had in me, in themselves, and in God.

With this awareness, I've learned that you can look at the world in one of two extremes:
1) holding unrealistic expectations - being constantly disappointed that people are not reaching the standards you set for them...unforgiving of their faults because they should know better...never appreciating the journey that they need to take in order to learn the lessons God has in store for them
2) making "we're only human" excuses for everything we do - without any accountability to help the other strive for heaven...forgetting that this is not our home...living for this life alone and not once stopping to reflect on the guidance God offers us through Scripture and through the good and holy people who have overcome their own temptations and continue to fight the good fight.

I guess the important thing here is that I'm learning. I don't have a profound commentary on the points listed above, but I'm beginning to understand that there needs to be a certain degree of balance in the Christian life. Jesus did mention the long and narrow road, but He never mentioned anything about a tightrope. Yet, it's true...we must recognize how important this balance is...finding the midpoint between the two extremes that is compassion, patience, acceptance, and love.

Let's stop here for the night. I don't think I have anything else to say. There is still much, but I have to wait on God for the words...so we'll see. I'm getting a little delirious being up at this hour...

+AMDG+

Back home

Great KAIROS VI retreat...some challenges, but as Gary says, without struggle, there is no progress. I would have never seen the strength rise up out of my guys if they were not tested. I would have never known how awesome my team if we never stared discouragement in the face.

Johnny Simmons is my hero.

I thank you, Lord, for this experience. The same but different than last year. Thank you for James, Johnny, Darren, and Marius...for Fr. Kevin, Fr. Jim, Cristina, Maggie, Frank and Dwayne. They pulled through when I needed them to, and I can look back knowing that it was all worth it.

I'll never know how much it really made a difference in the lives of the guys who went. I'll never see the hidden blessings that you gave us during those three days. But I can say that I am so grateful for the grace you gave us to get through it.

I work in a community that people are afraid to even drive by. I serve a student population that society stereotypes as lazy, unsuccessful, and maybe even dangerous. But when I walk on the campus of Verbum Dei High School, I see hope...perseverance...determination...and love. There are those few who will take a little bit longer than others to get it, but as I was told, you just can't give up because most everyone there really do work for good...good in each other...good in the world...good in themselves.

It felt like I was gone forever.

When I got back, everything was the same. But something inside of me changed.

KAIROS - God's time. He has his way of slowing things down so that we can really soak in what He wants to teach us. And we definitely learned a lot more than we expected to.

That's just the way life goes.

Praising God always...

Mean people

...are just not nice.

It's easier to talk behind the back, I know. But, man, the drama.

Like I was telling my friend tonight, I just keep praying and pushing through. What else is there to do?

If anyone is reading this and trying to figure out what I'm talking about, it isn't regarding any one particular situation. This actually pertains to life in general.

I listen. That's all I really do. Sometimes I get angry. Sometimes I feel sad. Other times I don't really have a reaction. That's when I realize that I can only offer my presence.

Lots of wasted energy going around. That's how I see it. I waste energy, too.

So instead of reacting negatively or continuing to complain about a somebody or a something, I try to remember to give it to Jesus and leave it with Him...not thinking about it a whole lot from that point on because the world is still turning while life is just passing me by.

My heart hurts. Literally.

When things happen that you really have no control over and people do things that you really can't change, it's useless to make it your own problem. That's where stress comes from...the kind of stress that takes its toll on your body, your mind and your spirit.

He said...she said...they said...I think...we should...maybe come back to what's really important.

Whenever we forget what matters most in life, it's so easy to get caught up. It's easy to criticize. It's easy to fight. It's easy to take each other for granted and do nothing to find a solution.

And it's easier than anything else to tell yourself not to care.

APATHY KILLS RELATIONSHIPS. It eats away at the core of who we are as human beings...and after a while the life slowly seeps out of us, our hearts grow very cold, and we're dead.

Walking zombies on automatic pilot conditioned to do nothing for anyone else but ourselves. I don't know if this is making sense to you but it makes a whole lot of sense to me and to tell you the truth, it's a bit frightening.

Gotta watch out for myself, we say.

Of course we do...but why is it now like second nature to shut people out? What ever happened to unconditional?

I don't know, Lord. I really don't know.

Why all the pain? Where is it all coming from? I want to know. I want to know what has made us this ill.

Sickness by definition is an infraction on one's health. Brokenheartedness is a sickness to me. People die from it. Just visit your local nursing home for proof.

If we don't learn to love again, we will live very lonely lives. You can give us all the friends in the world and bless us with many, many children...but without love, it all means absolutely nothing.

That's why You introduced me to him. You were going to use him to teach me.

It's never too late. As long as we're here, we can always be better and try harder. We know a lot...but unapplied knowledge has no real value. You can't get into heaven based on what you know. Your key in is how much you loved.

Begging for the grace........