I’m doing my psychiatry rotation right now, and I’ve most recently spent some time working in child psych. And every day, without fail, I hear horrific tales of broken and desperate and completely dysfunctional, unacceptable childhoods.
[ That’s the case more often than not – though occasionally we have patients who were raised in supportive, functional families ]
Anyways – the more I see this, the more I find myself (1) thanking God for all that He has given me and (2) asking Him why He did.
I know a few things:
I know He doesn’t love me more that the people who walk in to our clinic. I don’t think for a second that He doles out blessing, or circumstances for that matter, based on how much He loves His children. Nope – we’re definitely all loved equally.
I know that having a mental illness means a lot of hard work in order to get well. Between medical and psychotherapy options available today, it’s a commitment – and regardless of how you go about it, it’s a long and challenging road. And it’s one that impacts many of those who surround you.
I know Luke 12:48, where Jesus straight up says: From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.
And I know that I’ve been given much.
And I feel like – I haven’t taken this responsibility seriously enough in the past.
My path has been made straight. I’ve been given everything (and more) that I needed to succeed.
I’ve wanted for nothing. And that just isn’t the reality of the majority of the world.
So I don’t believe that I’m meant to sort of float through the world wearing nice clothes and buying nice cars. I believe I’ve been given so much in order to do much. I believe that God uses us, because human hands and human feet are His best tools on this Earth. And I believe my job is to surrender fully to whatever plans He has – and to expect that they will be hard and they will require sacrifice, and to not expect that is just plain insanity.
If not us who have been given everything – then whom? Those who are born in to poverty? Those who are struck with chronic illness? Those who are struggling to pay their bills?
Get me not wrong – every single person has a significant role to fill in God’s great plans; but if we find ourselves expecting things of others with less fortunate circumstances, then we best be willing to step up and drop everything for anything that God calls us to.
MUCH IS REQUIRED.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Worth the effort.
My drive home every evening takes me around a bay – and on a clear, sunny day it’s breathtaking.
Today was one such day. The sky was littered with fluffy white clouds and the sun was present in their midst. As I ogled at their existence, I noticed the effect of the sun on the surrounding clouds.
And it was a pretty ground breaking observation…
WHAT I NOTICED
…was that the closer the clouds were to the sun, the more brilliant they appeared, while those that were found at a distance, took on a darker, less white, more grey appearance.
OUTSTANDING!!!
… or not
So I realize that’s fairly obvious. BUT it made me think about the other Son we know.
And how… the closer we are to Him, the brighter we shine.
Which made me think – that making a sincere effort to go pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament is important.
Hence – worth the effort.
Today was one such day. The sky was littered with fluffy white clouds and the sun was present in their midst. As I ogled at their existence, I noticed the effect of the sun on the surrounding clouds.
And it was a pretty ground breaking observation…
WHAT I NOTICED
…was that the closer the clouds were to the sun, the more brilliant they appeared, while those that were found at a distance, took on a darker, less white, more grey appearance.
OUTSTANDING!!!
… or not
So I realize that’s fairly obvious. BUT it made me think about the other Son we know.
And how… the closer we are to Him, the brighter we shine.
Which made me think – that making a sincere effort to go pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament is important.
Hence – worth the effort.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
We are ten.
Abraham’s chat with God in Genesis 18 is phenomenal.
As God talks of His plans to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham questions Him of what He will do if he finds 50, 40, 30 and eventually only 10 who are righteous. God agrees that if there are 10 who are righteous, He will not destroy the cities. Sodom and Gomorrah were believed to have been populated with about 1200 people at the time of this discussion, making 10 righteous inhabitants less than 1% of the population.
I think that’s a pretty bold statement about how valuable life is to God.
His promise declares that though 1190 people might loathe Him in all they say and do; though they abandon His laws and reject His love, He will spare their lives for the sake of less than 1% of the population; for just 10 people.
Only 10.
Could this still be true of our lives today? Of our city? Province? Of our country?
As our God endures the rejection of abortion, as He is repeatedly thrown out of public institutions and as His people disagree and seek division instead of unity – does He spare us because of a minority of righteous peoples?
We are 10.
We may be small in numbers. But I wonder if it’s enough.
Though our country is overwhelmingly turning away from our God, will He continue to spare us if we remain faithful? Can our commitment to God’s plans for our own lives save our country?
In his abundant grace, He’s never asked for more than we are able to give.
So choose to be one of 10. Choose to give everything for the sake of the rest.
Live sacrificially. Simply. Faithfully.
We are 10.
And I think that’s enough.
The path of least resistance
Soooo….
You meet this lady. As you begin chatting with her, you discover that when she was a child, she went to a public school. When she got to grade 8, she had a teacher she never really got along with. One day the teacher made a remark that really rubbed this girl the wrong way. In fact, she was so upset by this remark that she decided never to return to school. She was a bright girl though, and did enjoy learning – so she decided that she would educate herself for the rest of her life. It’s 5 years later, and she’s completed her high school equivalent degree through self study. Sure, it took a year longer and a lot more effort – but she did it! And she did well. She has similar plans for her post-secondary education as she intends to pursue a certification she can earn outside the classroom.
Alsoooo…
Your dad doesn’t like the doctor. He went to a doctor when he was in the 12th grade and was advised incorrectly. His doctor messed up and it cost him a year of disability. He promised himself he would never return. He resolved to use the internet for the rest of his life to take care of his health because the healthcare system he had previously been involved in sure didn’t work!
You meet this lady. As you begin chatting with her, you discover that when she was a child, she went to a public school. When she got to grade 8, she had a teacher she never really got along with. One day the teacher made a remark that really rubbed this girl the wrong way. In fact, she was so upset by this remark that she decided never to return to school. She was a bright girl though, and did enjoy learning – so she decided that she would educate herself for the rest of her life. It’s 5 years later, and she’s completed her high school equivalent degree through self study. Sure, it took a year longer and a lot more effort – but she did it! And she did well. She has similar plans for her post-secondary education as she intends to pursue a certification she can earn outside the classroom.
Alsoooo…
Your dad doesn’t like the doctor. He went to a doctor when he was in the 12th grade and was advised incorrectly. His doctor messed up and it cost him a year of disability. He promised himself he would never return. He resolved to use the internet for the rest of his life to take care of his health because the healthcare system he had previously been involved in sure didn’t work!
--
We are fallible little human beings. We screw up. We say the wrong things and we act unkindly from time to time. We misunderstand the people we meet and so we fail to meet their needs. It happens – and I suspect it always will.
Occasionally, these dysfunctional interactions are pretty bad. And they manage to skew our impression of an entire group of people, institution or organization based on a single conversation.
But that doesn’t make our skewed impressions right.
If I ran in to lady A, I might try and convince her to give the university system a try. Yes, she was wronged and that shouldn’t have happened. But it isn’t a fair reflection on the education system as a whole. That being said, fair impressions aren’t why I would encourage her to try again. I generally believe that the established post-secondary education system will provide her the easiest route to achieving her educational goals. Sure, she may succeed otherwise, but it would seemingly be a lot of needless time and effort on her part, given that a system is already in place that has repeatedly shown itself to work.
Similarly, I would share these concerns with my dad. While he might successfully bumble his way through an abundance of internet sites and somehow manage to take care of himself and any illness that befalls him – it just doesn’t seem worth the effort, when there’s already a system in place that works.
I think the same is true of the Church. There’s this thought that seems increasingly prevalent these days suggesting that the Church is an unnecessary entity. That eternal happiness can be found on our own and the Church just gets in the way of that. People are choosing to find their own way to Heaven, and see no place for the Church that journey. Whether it’s the result of a disappointing encounter with a member of the Church or an enlightenment of sorts they’ve reached independently – I don’t think it’s the answer.
Since Jesus left this Earth, His people have been banded together to form the Church He established. She has undergone trials of her own and her people haven’t always been faithful, but as an institution – she has successfully led her faithful followers to their eternal place of rest. Those who follow her precepts earnestly find the peace and happiness their hearts desire. She is well established and her instruction is true.
So while there are some who never step foot inside a church who we’ll meet in heaven, I’m opting for the path that is well trodden. Though many of life’s circumstances reward those who make their own way – the consequence here is too great for me to stumble along a path of no guarantees. 2000 years of success sounds good to me!
We are fallible little human beings. We screw up. We say the wrong things and we act unkindly from time to time. We misunderstand the people we meet and so we fail to meet their needs. It happens – and I suspect it always will.
Occasionally, these dysfunctional interactions are pretty bad. And they manage to skew our impression of an entire group of people, institution or organization based on a single conversation.
But that doesn’t make our skewed impressions right.
If I ran in to lady A, I might try and convince her to give the university system a try. Yes, she was wronged and that shouldn’t have happened. But it isn’t a fair reflection on the education system as a whole. That being said, fair impressions aren’t why I would encourage her to try again. I generally believe that the established post-secondary education system will provide her the easiest route to achieving her educational goals. Sure, she may succeed otherwise, but it would seemingly be a lot of needless time and effort on her part, given that a system is already in place that has repeatedly shown itself to work.
Similarly, I would share these concerns with my dad. While he might successfully bumble his way through an abundance of internet sites and somehow manage to take care of himself and any illness that befalls him – it just doesn’t seem worth the effort, when there’s already a system in place that works.
I think the same is true of the Church. There’s this thought that seems increasingly prevalent these days suggesting that the Church is an unnecessary entity. That eternal happiness can be found on our own and the Church just gets in the way of that. People are choosing to find their own way to Heaven, and see no place for the Church that journey. Whether it’s the result of a disappointing encounter with a member of the Church or an enlightenment of sorts they’ve reached independently – I don’t think it’s the answer.
Since Jesus left this Earth, His people have been banded together to form the Church He established. She has undergone trials of her own and her people haven’t always been faithful, but as an institution – she has successfully led her faithful followers to their eternal place of rest. Those who follow her precepts earnestly find the peace and happiness their hearts desire. She is well established and her instruction is true.
So while there are some who never step foot inside a church who we’ll meet in heaven, I’m opting for the path that is well trodden. Though many of life’s circumstances reward those who make their own way – the consequence here is too great for me to stumble along a path of no guarantees. 2000 years of success sounds good to me!
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