About Humility

I have been reading Pope Francis' book entitled The Way of Humility and so far I have learned a lot from this very wise man. 

Let me share some of his quotes as I also narrate personal struggles in my life.

"Negative criticism leads us to focus on the faults and failings of other people; as a result, we can feel superior."

Lately, I experienced a huge setback in my life. Someone stole a huge amount from my bank savings. I confided it to my closest friends and family. Sadly, some of my family members I sought refuge from and look up to were the first ones to criticize me and what happened to me. 

After I read the book, I realized that it is easy for people to criticize than to really listen and to empathize. It is easier to hurt others than to comfort. All my ailing heart needed was comfort.

I realized that maybe my condition was not really the issue at hand when they decided to criticize me. Maybe they also had an ailing heart or were going through some tough times of their own. I can only try my best to understand them. But I thank God for all my friends who supported me through it all. Even if they weren't blood relatives, they proved to me how they are true sisters and brothers in Christ.

"Those who have fallen into the habit of being suspicious about everything little by little lose the peace of mind that comes from trusting confidence in God."

After I have learned of this huge setback, I also fell into anxiety even to the point of not being able to sleep. After months of agony, I realized that worrying is causing me to become faithless and prideful because I am not able to surrender these feelings to God. Thankfully, God touched my heart and now I'm back to doing my regular prayer time, Gospel reading, and have grown to constantly rely on praying the rosary to help me. It is true that in the worst case scenarios of life, when I have no one to turn to, it is God who is left available to turn to. It is saddening to realize that I sometimes tend to try to resolve things on my own before considering the power of Christ to save me. But today I am humbled. I need and accept His saving grace and I surrender.

"But if we carefully seek out the root cause of our disquiet, we always find the same: the fact that we do not practice self-accusation. This is why we feel crushed and never at peace. It is not surprising that all the saints say there is no other road than this."

I was very disquieted. Inside I had bombs exploding in my chest asking the Lord, "why me?!" But then Pope Francis reminded me, "why not you?" As Christ, my Lord, died on the cross, so too must I carry my cross. And this is the cross He allowed me to carry. And by His grace I can carry it. As the Lord is crushing my prideful heart, He is replacing it with a more humble one. A new heart that is stronger than the one I once had. A heart capable of truly sharing in His pain now and later on, His glory. 

"Look at a beast of burden. If it is sturdy, it cheerfully carries the heavy burden that is loaded onto it; if it loses its balance it gets up straightaway and suffers no harm. If it is weak, however, any load is too much for it; and if it falls, it needs a lot of help to get back on its feet. The same is true with the soul."

"Christ knows better than I whether I should obtain satisfaction, and he himself will take care of this thing or this food." 

On the day I learned I lost most of my life savings, I realized that maybe God is telling me I really do not need those things. I do not need to be secure in myself. I only needed to be secure in Him and to trust Him that He will take care of me. I should have 100% faith.

"But in his wisdom the prophet knew well that nothing attracts God's mercy upon the soul as much as trials, especially those that come in the time of misfortune and persecution."

And I trust in these words. I put them in my heart. I feel God telling me to relax. He will take care of me no matter how hard and no matter how impossible circumstances seem to be. 

And as I end this entry, I would like to leave you with a final quote I love:

"Everything happens by God's providence, according to what is best for each person."

God bless you! 

 

 

 

Repost: 5 Reasons God makes us Wait by Eric Speir

"There is a time for everything,  

and a season for every activity under the heavens."

-Ecclesiastes 3:1 

I am at a point in my life where I have to WAIT. This waiting period is painfully long and much much longer than I hoped it would be.

I came across this blog post a few months ago and I decided to read it again and repost it too. Here is the link of the original blog post. Nevertheless, I copied the contents here to remind me more often that God knows my hurts and that He is here with me.

In case you're waiting for something too that you think is taking too long to arrive, come read with me. 

---

5 Reasons God makes us wait 
by Eric Speir 

Perhaps you know the feeling of waiting for your phone to charge?
You've run out of batteries, you've plugged the phone in and now there's nothing to do but sit and wait? And even it really only takes a matter of minutes (and even though it's nothing more than a phone), you start to feel tense and anxious, wondering how long this could possibly take.

Most people don't like to wait. We often get frustrated waiting on fast food or waiting behind the slow car in the fast lane. We are always in a rush to get to the next place or the next thing.

This mindset often carries over into our spiritual lives with us rushing to the next big thing. 



But while most of us are in a hurry, it seems God is usually not in a hurry. The Scriptures say He is slow at going about things. It seems He always has a plan and a purpose for everything.


The problem with waiting is not having all the details. From our perspective, we have everything figured out and we want God to move within our timeframe.

Waiting is a part of life and one of God's tools for developing people.

But God rarely does things according to our timeframe, and because of this we can easily get discouraged. If we aren't careful, we'll think He's uncaring or mad at us.

In the Gospels we see this happening to Mary and Martha while they are waiting on Jesus to come and heal their brother, Lazarus. When Jesus finally shows up, He is accused of taking too long. 



God always has good reasons for making us wait. Waiting is a part of life and one of God's tools for developing people. The Bible is full of stories of people having to wait on God, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, Daniel, Jesus, Paul and countless others.



In studying the lives of these great people, I've discovered 5 reasons God makes us wait:



1. Waiting Reveals Our True Motives



 

Waiting has a way of bringing out the best and worst in people. People who don't have good motives won't wait long because they're not interested in the commitment it takes to see something through. They're too interested in short-term gains or success.

Most of us have good intentions, but a lot of what we want to accomplish is an attempt to make a name for ourselves or for our own egos. It hurts to say this, but it's often true.



2. Waiting Builds Patience In Our Lives

 

Patience in waiting for small things leads to having patience in the bigger things. If we can't wait for God to do a small thing, we certainly can't wait for something bigger.

Our problem is our perspective is usually wrong. We tend to think the bigger things in life are finances and possessions, while God thinks influencing and changing people is more important.


3. Waiting Builds Anticipation



Why do children get so excited around Christmas? Because the wait has produced anticipation. We tend to appreciate things the longer we have to wait for them.


A few years ago, my family and I were going through a difficult season. We had to live with my mother-in-law for a few years. During this time the Lord assured me that one day we would own a home of our own. It took a few years to see this happen, but when the day finally came, we could hardly contain ourselves.

Because of having to wait so long, we tend to cherish and take care of it more than others might. People tend to treasure the things they have to wait for.



4. Waiting Transforms Our Character



 

Waiting has a way of rubbing off the rough edges of our lives. Most of us know the story of Moses delivering the Israelites from the Egyptians. It's a grand story of God doing great miracles.

But few sermons talk about Moses having to wait in the desert 40 years before God came to him. God used this time of waiting to transform his character. We know this because when he was a young man he was brash and impatient. In his impetuousness he killed a man and hid the body. When his sin was made public, he ran for his life and was exiled to the desert. When he was given a second chance he opted to do it God's way and in God's time.

In the end, the Israelites were delivered from slavery and Moses became a great leader. Waiting transformed the life of Moses and it does the same for you and I.



5. Waiting Builds Intimacy and Dependency Upon God

 

The reason we are able to read about the great men and women of the Bible is because they all had one thing in common. They were all people who learned their success in life was directly proportionate to their intimacy and dependency upon God. For them, a relationship with God wasn't a get rich quick scheme. For many of them it was a matter of life and death.

The good news is that God never asks us to wait without Him

Waiting during the difficult times developed their relationship with God. 

Some of the most intimate relationships we have in our lives are because a friend stood in the trenches with us during the heat of the battle. Maybe this is what the scripture means when it says we have a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

The reason we get to read the stories of these great men and women is because they went through the difficulties of life with God. In the end, they enjoyed the process with God and the promise of God.



I've always believed God is just as interested in the journey as he is the destination. If not, all the biblical accounts would only include the feel good parts and not the good, the bad and the ugly of the times of waiting. We may not always understand why we have to wait, but the good news is that God never asks us to wait without Him. 

Read more at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/5-reasons-god-makes-us-wait#KwdRH7V75TUsBT4I.99