I am sitting in a waiting room at a local clinic, while my
husband is getting some kidney stones zapped.
As I am here, I am wearing a mask over my mouth, because I am still
coughing a lot with my bronchitis. In
fact, I went to a different clinic already this morning to get checked out
again. Sometime, after Bruce’s surgery,
I will have to go back for a chest x-ray.
What a day!
I actually decided on today’s post title quite a few days
ago. I figured it would be good to touch
base on my New Year’s resolutions. Oh
my.
As the first paragraph indicates, life has started a little
bit on the bad side at the Padan house, at least in terms of physical health. Bruce had surgery last month also, but not
all of his kidney stones have passed.
The good news is that he has still been able to go to work. Me, not so much. I have been trying to work from home, with
varying levels of success. I am not able
to talk much, and right now, I need to be making lots of thank you calls. Sigh.
So, when it comes to my resolution to make more cards, I
could be doing okay…if I could keep my focus.
After all, I have been at home…plenty of time to stamp. But no creative juices are flowing.
I have been reading a little more…I have also been doing my
Divine Office prayers more…so that is good.
But I also have had the silly TV on too much. Hard to ignore that crutch
when I am sitting on the couch so much.
And yet…is that a reasonable excuse? I’m not trying to get all self-righteous
here, and I realize that I should cut myself some slack…I have been sick. But perhaps this time was meant for me to
use for prayer and reading. Something to
consider.
I’ll admit that one reason I am thinking about this is
because of the book I have just started reading: a biography of St. Catherine
of Siena (by Sigrid Undset). What an amazing woman! I am less than 100 pages into my book, and I
am deeply moved by St. Catherine’s devotion to Christ, even as a young
girl. Her prayer life was focused,
committed, and fruitful. Of course, one
doesn’t get the title “Doctor of the Church” for twiddling your thumbs!
One of the stories shared in the book tells of St. Catherine’s
desire to take care of the poor in her community. She came from a well-to-do family; her
father was a successful wool-dyer, a master craftsman. Catherine had approached her father, asking if she could give some things away to the poor, and he gave his blessing. It
was not uncommon for Catherine to take things from her father’s shop…even from
her family’s own belongings. One night, Catherine was in bed…very sick,
barely able to move…and she became overwhelmed with thoughts of helping a local
widow with several children. She prayed
to God, that He would give her the strength to get up, gather some food, and be
able to deliver it, in secret, to this needy family.
No self-pity. No
cranky “leave me alone!” Instead, she
was filled with authentic love and compassion for someone else. This is what holiness looks like!
St. Catherine saw a need, and realized that she could
address that need…with God’s help. At
that time, she was physically incapable of doing anything, let alone walk up
and down stairs, gather food, oil, and wine, and walk on the steep streets of
Siena with her generous bundle. She
actually lived as one who believes “I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me.” She was totally
dependent upon God to complete that task…a task He most certainly gave to
her. How often are we given tasks by God
and we refuse them? We excuse ourselves…I
don’t have time…I don’t have the right skills…I’m not feeling well.
I don't expect any mission to come to me in the middle of the night...probably not even tomorrow. I realize God wants me to rest up and get well, so I can return with renewed strength to my work at Women's Care Clinic. But I do see the importance of taking the mission of each day more seriously...more intentionally. I love the quote of this great Saint, which I included at the top of this post: Be who you were created to be, and you will set the world on fire!
Great words to live by...from one of the greatest women and Christ-followers of all time!
So...how are you doing on your resolutions? Got any tips for me?
Thanks for stopping by!
(Cough, cough)
Kim
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