Using Temptations To Our Advantage

I remember the day I met my first truly holy person. Now, she would tell you she is anything BUT holy. She was to give a talk at the conclusion of our first Rachel's Vineyard Weekend Retreat. She was speaking on the topic of God's Abundant Mercy and Forgiveness. I thought that was an excellent choice given the flavor of the weekend. I digress, the point is, that when she crossed the threshold, a sense of serenity filled the room. A calm that was physically felt, everyone in the room visibly relaxed and became more open and she hadn't spoken a word, I imagine Mother Teresa would be the same way.

I wanted, what she had, a profound sense of peace, joy and acceptance. Little did I know that she and I would become good friends and she would teach me without saying a word. It is good that we have people like that in our lives. Perhaps they are not public speakers, but their presence produces that same calming effect. PEACE.

How do they do it? Were they born that way? Well I know for a fact, by her own admission, she was not born that way, in fact, she would tell you, she was quite the opposite. So how did she do it?

Her secret.....fortitude and perseverance.

Her initial talk on God's Abundant Mercy and forgiveness is the beginning of becoming peaceful. You see, we must first see ourselves as God see's us, as an exquisite gift to the world, a one of a kind masterpiece.

Can any of us really say that we see ourselves that way? And not in the conceited puffed up, prideful way.

I would venture that not many could claim that, because we would have to acknowledge our profound dependence on our Creator. We would know our place as created beings relying on Him for all things, including our next breath.

With that in mind, we would have to admit that we frequently forget that we are merely human, for we think we get where we are by our own accord, constantly forgetting He is sustaining us.

How many times a day does Our Lord extend His infinite mercy to us? Think about it?

In my case it is constantly!!! Why? Because the instant I am not praying I am falling!

You might be thinking, who can pray all the time? Obviously those whose very presence we seek out because of their profound peacefulness.

We need fortitude. Developing the interior strength to keep trying. It's kinda like a toddler learning to walk. Taking a few steps..falling..crying ...getting back up. The repetition of doing something over and over again until it's done without thought.

We also need perseverance because God willing....it's a long life. We can become complacent or tired and get stuck in a rut.

Here's a little secret, those temptations that we all complain about, you know the little daily annoyances that we must endure to really blatant ones, if viewed right, help us to develop interior strength. The strength to persevere no matter what.

Development of interior strength is Praying without Ceasing. Why? Because when we are learning to accept all from the hand God, the temptations come to strengthen us by forcing us to acknowledge that we are in fact created beings that depend on our creator for all things.

My son said it best. The other day he whittled a stick into a point (like a sword). He kept making it sharper and sharper, to the point that it was so thin that it looked like it would break off. So I said to him, "Better be careful, because if it gets too thin it will break and not be useful."

His response along with this memory is the inspiration for the piece.

He said, " Don't worry mom, I created it; I know its weakness."