Put In My Place
This past week or so has been overwhelming for me. My two baby boys have proven to be a great challenge for me and my wife. I have faced off with stress and frustration seemingly each day. Caring for sick babies is a task that requires great patience. Last night, after a hours of failed attempts to get my elder son down for the night, I almost felt like giving up. However, amidst it all I knew that God was trying to teach me something… namely patience. My wife had even commented “How much patience does God want us to have?”
So as I was putting Joshua down for the third time I broke down inside and prayed. I prayed as I should’ve prayed for the past few weeks, but had failed to. I asked God for help, that He might show me what He wanted me to learn from this experience. And show me He did. It came to me as clear as day, that it it wasn’t about patience, but rather priorities.
These past few weeks I have become the object of my own worship and adoration. Selfishness has taken over me. No wonder I have had little joy, little peace. If I am worshiping myself, what room is there for God? As I often have told my students I now had to tell myself. It is time to re-prioritize my life.
Priorities are Important
God must come first, not just in the course of the day—although to spend the first silent moments of the day with Him is important—but in everything we do, in our thoughts and dreams, in everything we want and desire. He is our all and we must treat Him as such, as if our lives depended on Him, for they do. We cannot take our next breathe if He does not will it.
Mother Teresa is noted as saying in regards to the spiritual life: Spend one hour each day in adoration of our Lord and never do anything you know is wrong. Follow this and you’ll be fine. It’s so simple, yet we so often fail to do it. The first commandment if first for a reason (Ex 20:2-4). Jesus reminded us of that with the Greatest Commandment (Mt 22:37-38).
Once we have reordered my life to God, then we will be much more inclined to give our lives away to others, especially our families and our community. Serving them will become more a privilege than a chore. Obviously, because we have no desire without the love of God which impels us to love. We see now that we must come last, after God and after our neighbor. This is the life of joy.