Life is short
and it goes by so quickly; those that are able to grasp this truth live life
more authentically free. Knowing the end
is near makes our today, our right now more precious and encourages us to enjoy
every moment and every person haorita. Sometimes in order for us to come to the
conclusion that life ends unscheduled, uncaringly and abruptly- we must lose
someone we truly love. When death hits
home (in the core of our being) we are taught very unwillingly lessons that
mark the course of our lives. One that
time is our enemy because we are constantly running out of it; that love gives
meaning and purpose to life; that we need each other to heal, to partake in
happiness and in sadness and to experience life as it was meant to be - shared,
in unity and communion with one another and with God.
Time stops
for no one. Even in the deepest tempests
of human pain, life goes on. Though pain
causes us to halt, to stop long enough to catch our breath – time continues its
course. Yet, loss humbles us enough to
understand that our days are relentlessly numbered - this confrontation with
the finite can be a great blessing if we allow it. This knowing gives us a deep desire to live
life more passionately, and carefree. It
challenges us to reconsider and restore our priorities and values. Love suddenly becomes the number one
priority. When loss hits us we realize
that status, power, fame, possessions are meaningless in comparison to love. As the old saying says, “it’s better to love
and have lost…” When we love and are loved back in return heaven comes to earth
and God manifests His beauty in the single act of loving. Those who Love finds worthy are in the heart
of God. I love our Pope because he’s
what I call “all heart”- he speaks from his heart, acts from his heart - he’s
not afraid to act simply on inspirations he feels deep within his heart. This heart courage is admirable and so
uniquely real and rare. Most of us would rather
hide than expose our feelings. To admit and profess our love takes courage and
vulnerability, but when we are real that’s when we connect with one
another. Because everyone is attracted
to “realness” to truth. I have been thinking
a lot lately about the scriptures in the New Testament that use lamps as
metaphors. God is not only telling us to
shine our light or exhorting us to be the light for others, but also to be authentic
– to be real. I think of the saints and
how “real” they were. Saint Francis of
Assisi showed no concerned when others thought he had lost his mind because he
decided to give everything to restore God’s church, Mother Teresa didn’t care
that others thought she had gone rogue when she decided to leave the convent to
help the poor and destitute, Joan of Arc didn’t care when people laughed
thinking she was a crazy dame for requesting an army to fight for God’s Kingdom…
Our friends the Saints had kingdom vision. They understood that following God
and doing His will would not always be popular, sometimes they would be huge outcasts;
but, throughout history we remember them because they had the courage to be
truly authentic and obedient to God’s will.
They didn’t care to have fifty likes, or a million followers and they
sure didn’t care what others thought when they showed God’s love to
others. Yet, I see in my Christian
circle fear of expressing love towards one another in panic of what others will
think or say and it sadness me that we who have God in our hearts allow such
pettiness to keep us from showing God’s love to one another. And this anxiety of expression is an epidemic
that affects all believers because we allow pride and fear to reign in our
lives. But sometimes if we are fortunate
and malleable the pain of great loss forms us into better lovers. I am medically diagnosed as mentally ill so
maybe when I profess my love towards others people just assume it’s the bipolar
in me, but death has freed me to say and do what my heart feels because time is
our enemy and we never know when our time will come to an end. I want to leave knowing I loved much and that
my lot of people felt and knew it. I want to
graduate from this life with a degree in love and a minor in cheesy (smile).
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