A Call for Vulnerability, Part 1 of 3
Have you ever caught yourself in a moment of utter despair, pain, and loss? What did you do to pull through? Often, when we find ourselves going through difficult times in life, we cling and seek resources to help guide us through. What if I told you the answer to overcoming that hardship is diving deeper into what led you to that suffering in the first place?
Seasons
What season do you currently find yourself in? Much like the weather, there is a variety of circumstance changes that lead to different outcomes. The many seasons can include a season of waiting, a season of silence, a season of confusion, and a season of answers.
What can we learn from looking at the changing patterns of the earthly seasons compared to our lives?
Mother of Fair Love
February 14th - it’s probably the best day of the year. For those of you who are single with zero V-day plans what-so-ever you're probably saying "What is this girl thinking?" ... but please hear me out.
Be The light
Thanksgiving is always a favorite time of year for me. While most are excited about heading home to spend some much-needed time with family and friends, or eating all of the excellent food, the detail that means the most to me is that we get one day where the focus is entirely on one thing - GRATITUDE.
grat·i·tude /ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/ - the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
How are you doing, really?
“How are you doing?”
This phrase is my knee-jerk greeting when starting to speak with someone. We greet our friends with a “how are you?” so freely and easily in order to connect, catch up, and begin dialogue. It is our culture’s conversation starter. This question often leads to how work, family, spouse, kids, school, the weather are going. Sometimes, the question leads to how the person really is doing and you share in a special, vulnerable, or celebratory connection.
But when was the last time you asked yourself…How am I REALLY doing?
Brand New
Do you ever think back on your past and remember a time in your life when things were going really well—you were achieving your dreams and living on a high—and think, “I wish that was still me.” You remember the rush of emotions and feelings you felt in a previous moment of consolation.
Or maybe it’s the opposite. Maybe you’re running from the past—feeling like an empty shell of the person you used to be before the mistakes, the hurt, the decisions made, or life circumstances. You just want to be able to start over and shake it all off. But it sticks with you.
Be Not Afraid
The week we were leaving, I was scared out of my mind. I tend to get really anxious and worked up, so I went to Adoration to let it all out and pray for protection.
As I was sitting in my parish’s Adoration chapel, I looked up and I saw the words painted behind the monstrance - Be not afraid, follow me. I had seen those words on the wall for years, but on that day it was like they jumped off the wall. I even felt the Lord continue, “Follow me to Poland.”
Hail Mary, Gentle Mother
"Take a deep breath, really hold it, allow the breath to travel from your nose to the bottom of your chest, Marissa... take a deep breath, MARISSA.. are you breathing?" I think to myself.
Isn't it funny how the most straightforward act can be so challenging to do?
Nathan Crankfield's blog, Mama's boy, on building a relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary, prompted this reflection.
He Doesn’t Need Us
I think praying is so hard.
Oftentimes my scattered brain can’t focus long enough to connect one mental sentence with the next and any visit to the chapel usually turns into a staring contest with the leaves on the trees outside. My greatest challenge is to fill my mind with quiet.
That’s why I write.
self love, and all the extras
It is challenging to scroll through Instagram or flip through a magazine in 2020 without continually hearing the phrase self-love. Not saying anything with "loving yourself" is wrong, but in a "Me" based society that puts the sense of self before "we," is it really conducive to promote a world that encourages to love yourself even more?
Loving yourself can mean different things to different people. Some reserve their Sundays for quiet time and meditation, while for others, this “self-love" mentality is used as motivation to buy themselves that extra handbag or indulging on the second scoop of ice cream.
But if we really took a step back and paused, we would ask ourselves, where does "self-love" really come from?
Beyond the limit
“10 seconds!”
I heard our coach yell those dreaded words as my teammates and I approached the line yet again. Running suicides in the Florida summer heat should be a scene from Dante’s Inferno.
I tried to catch my breath as I stepped up to the line, but couldn’t—It felt like I was breathing through a thin paper straw.
When You’ve Already Had a Conversion, and you make mistakes
When I was a freshman in college, I was realizing how close God actually was to me, and that He actually wanted to move in my life. I had come off of a summer working on mission at a summer camp, and I was READY for revival.
And, it got kind of unhealthy.
A Mental Health Journey
Almost exactly four years ago, I was sitting on my bedroom floor sobbing.
I was in an extraordinarily emotionally draining, entry level job just a few months after college graduation. After only a few weeks on the job, I felt like I was about to either implode or explode.