Glimpse of God for the week of May 12, 2024

Happy Mother’s Day

to all of you who are moms, grand-moms, single moms, God-moms, widows, foster moms, and single women who also exude the qualities that our Blessed Mother possessed and passed on to you: Love for others, compassion, a joyful heart, a giving spirit, and a nurturing woman of faith. Thanks for being that to all of those you have encountered, and may you know that your mother is proud of you as she continues to walk with you here on earth or looks down from heaven.

My glimpse of God comes from a place that I have had to spend a lot of time in, somewhat unexpectedly but all good.  It is in my car.  This past week I have had to do a lot of driving and spent long stretches of time in the car. As I have been spending much more time in my car, I began to look at it differently. Not just as a means to get somewhere, but rather a road map from God as to the best way for me to go in the direction that He knows is best for me. I looked at each aspect of the inside of the car in light of my relationship with God and how I choose to enter into that relationship. Now I know that not everyone has a car and relies on public transportation, but I believe that this glimpse can be imagined by most.

The front window, the gear shifts, the controls, the gas and brake pads, the music and the rear-view mirror all have a way of bringing out God’s presence, His voice, and His direction for my life.  As you read this, you might not agree with my analogy, but I hope that you will look at the various aspects of the car differently in light of faith and how God reveals Himself through them.

As we begin a new week, one that includes honoring our mothers here on earth and as well as in heaven in light of the great love that our Blessed Mother has shown all of us. As we begin a new week in the midst of the wonderful season of spring, rain and all, let us see where we need to be renewed, cleansed, refreshed, so that we can make changes in our life so to better recognize God’s presence.  Let us also pray for a greater desire to grow in an appreciation of the instruments that He uses to reveal His presence to us in our everyday encounters, routines, and experiences. When our cars need to be repaired, we bring them to a mechanic. When aspects of our lives need to be repaired, renewed, or reconciled, we bring them to God and the Church.  A big difference is that when a car reaches a certain number of miles, you know that it will soon need to be replaced and you will need to get another used or new car.  As we age and our bodies falter, God isn’t telling us that we need to be replaced or recycled, but rather that we need to be renewed so that we can continue on our journey of faith in the newness of His life. Although our bodies may ache, with some parts needing to be replaced and others removed, the heart, spirit and soul can only grow and be expanded as they are filled with more empathy, understanding, compassion and peace.

SUNDAY – Front window

As we begin a new week and a new day, let us look at it through the big open front window. Let the big, open, streak free, non-tinted window be how and where we allow God to show us all that lies ahead.  Not looking to the future, but rather looking at the gifts that are right before us and see them in all of their beauty. As we sit in the front seat, we have the opportunity to look ahead and carefully navigate the path that we choose to drive.  God is in the driver’s seat in that He knows where He wants us to go.  The question is are we ready and willing to go in His direction or do we want to veer of course, take a short cut or make a u turn?

For today, as you get into your car or take the time to imagine being in a car, look out your front window. Is your window into the world, that is your relationship with God, fresh, reconciled and renewed so that you can see what lies ahead and the direction God wants you to go? Or Is your window so full of streaks, the streaks of personal weakness and shortcomings, that you can’t see straight as to what direction is the right direction? Or is your window just little cloudy from daily frustrations and life challenges that it makes it difficult for you to see the direction that God is setting before you because you haven’t made the time to pray and ask for His help? Whatever your front window looks like, always remember that the Son will always shine and can always break through even the worst of our dirt, streaks, smudges, and dust.

MONDAY - Steering wheel

Take a hold of the steering wheel and go. We use the steering wheel to keep the car straight on the road so that we can be safe and avoid hitting others.  When we take the steering wheel, we can use both hands with a good grip, or one hand with a loose grip. How we choose to hold the steering wheel can reflect how we relate to God, others and how we see our self. We can choose to use both hands and that is where we choose to keep God close and not want to let go so that we don’t veer off course and hurt others by our words, actions, deeds, and attitudes. We realize and choose to keep God at the center of our journey and in control, where He chooses to use us as the steering wheel so that we can freely choose the direction that we will go. When we choose to use one hand with a loose grip, it can be our way of saying that we are comfortable with the direction of our journey and that God is a part of the journey, but we are taking a risk and are not fully connected or invested in the journey. Driving with one hand involves taking risks. The risk that if we hit a pothole or have to swerve to avoid something, we won’t be able to control the car as well because we don’t have both hands on the wheel.

For today, look at how you choose to hold the steering wheel or walk on your journey of faith. Do you put both hands on the wheel so that you have the control that you need so as to avoid hurting others and yourself? Or do you use one hand thinking that you have everything under control and only when things go seriously wrong do you return to using both hands in prayer?

TUESDAY – Gear shifts: Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, what one are you in?

Park: Do you want to stay in park because life challenges are too hard or seemingly unbearable, and it would be easier to just stay put and not move ahead? Or do you want to stay in park to admire the view? The view of God’s awesome creation? The view of your journey and how grace filled it is?

The view and canvas of God and how He has chosen to reveal Himself: through a sunrise, a sunset, a rainbow, the green grass, the rain fall, the various trees, and bushes in their array of colors that they hold.    

Reverse: Do you want to go back into a special place and time, where a cherished memory lies and a loved one is alive and well.  Do you want to go back to a period of your life where you were happy and felt a genuine inner peace? Do you want to go back to bring up a painful hurt, or a grudge? Do you want to live in the past because it was a happier less stressful time? Living life in reverse is not living at all. We cannot live in the past if we are Christ’s followers.  We must trust In Him so that as we live in the present and choose to go forward, we can take the past, recognize it for what it is and how it has shaped us and use it to form us for the future. We cannot deny our past; good, bad, or indifferent, it has made us who we are today, but we need to, we can choose to forgive so that the person that God wants us to be, the best person that we can be, is what we make of our self for the present and into our future. 

Neutral: Are you stuck in neutral, unable to decide what to do or where to go? Is your spiritual life in neutral? Is God the God of your present, the God of your past or the God not yet known? Being in neutral allows one to stay and be idle, but not indefinitely.  It is not park, but rather a temporary pause.  Life is a long sentence, sometimes we want to put a period where God wants to place a comma because He is not finished with us yet and we are not finished either. There are times and periods in our life that we want to remove or end, yet our growth, our healing in not done or so God places comma instead. The pause is a respite where God allows us to take a deep breath and exhale any negative stresses. When we take a breath and put our spiritual growth back into drive and out of neutral, we are allowing and inviting God to take us on the next step of our faith journey, the journey of healing and wholeness, peace, joy, and happiness as He defines it.

Let’s take a drive. Let it be slow, let it be with purpose, let it be with an open mind and open heart so that you can experience the freedom and the refreshment that comes. As you drive, invite God on the ride. Invite Him to steer, change lanes, change gears, go faster if necessary or slow down if needed, stop, or just take a pause.  In all things, let God tell you the direction that He wants you to go and the best way to get there. Have faith and don’t let the past keep you stuck in reverse or fear keep you in neutral, but allow your trust and courage put you in drive so that you can continue to move forward.

WEDNESDAY – Gas tank icon, how much gas is in the tank?

It’s the middle of the week, how much gas, energy do you have left? Are you running on empty or do you have a full tank? Is your spiritual life being nurtured by the sacraments of the Church, a good spiritual director, and personal prayer time, or is it being taken for granted and you are running on fumes? We all know that if you run out of gas, you are stuck and might even have to push the car to a safe area. In our spiritual life, if we run out of gas, that is we have run out of our own ideas and solutions and we need to ask God for His help to get us back on the road. We need to be filled with God’s graces so that we can keep going and not falter. Both for our cars and our spiritual life, we need to be aware of bad gas which can destroy the cars engine and bad advice that can lead us into temptation and cause us to sin. For today, get the premium gas. Go for the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation. Give yourself the gift of these graces so that your gas tank will always be full, and your heart and soul will always be ready for the journey.

For today, look at your gas gauge and ask God to fill you with His grace, love, and blessings where you are running low and almost empty or have been running on fumes and are suffering from burn out. His grace is enough for you, and He waits for you so that He can shower His graces upon graces upon you.

THURSDAY – gas and brake pads

Life comes at us quickly and there are times when we want to put the brakes on and yet there are other times when we think that things aren’t happening quick enough, and we want to put our foot on the gas. When we are driving, we often get behind someone who is going so much slower than the posted speed limit and we find our self becoming inpatient and frustrated. We think that we need to rush.  We think that there is too much to do, and we are wasting time, so we speed up.

Our spiritual life is similar. We often think that God isn’t doing things quick enough, so we decide that we can do it better and make hasty choices. We don’t take the time in prayer to seek God’s wisdom or insight. When we put our foot on the gas, we go so fast that we miss the present moment and the many graces that God has ready for us. When we speed in a car, we can get into a serious and life-threatening accident. When we choose to omit God in our spiritual life and make hasty choices, we can get into many spiritual accidents where we fall shot, sin, hurt others, hurt our self and leave God in the dust. It is only when we put on the brakes are we able to avoid a serious accident and are better able to listen to God as He gives us direction and the proper speed limit to travel.

For today, ask God to post His speed limit on your heart so that you can absorb, and embrace all that He has to show you so that you won’t miss anything because you were going too fast or too slow.

FRIDAY – Music

When I drive, I usually listen to music.  I choose to listen to Inspirational music as I drive because it keeps me in a prayerful mode, and I remain in a peaceful place.  When I am weary, I listen to the exercise music that I have on my phone so that I can keep my brain from becoming too relaxed.  Whatever the choice, I hear the music of God because when I drive, I know that God is with me and that my driving time is another experience of prayer. When I choose to listen to music, I am not choosing to do so to avoid hearing God.  I don’t turn it on to avoid listening to Him, although I know that some people need the noise to avoid the silence.  I find that in the words and melodies of the songs, I hear many different voices, genres, and decades of God inspired melody that sings to glorify, testify, and magnify His presence.

For today, as you listen to any music, in your car or not, don’t so much focus on the words, but rather the feelings that the music brings up in you.  I love music and that is one source where peace and joy abound for me. Why do you listen to music?  Is it an instrument of peaceful melody? Or is it a clashing of cymbals? Whatever it is, do you want to keep that same station or change the channel, lower the volume, or turn it up? As we walk on our faith journey and encounter various life challenges, crosses, joys, and celebrations, the music of the heart can bring us to our center where God dwells so that we can better cope and not get discouraged or feel defeated. When God is speaking through the music, we can’t make things go away by just turning changing the channel, but we can make God voice heard by turning up the volume.

SATURDAY- Rear view mirror

If it has been a challenging week, look in your rear-view mirror and be filled with hope in that the challenges, worries, pain, and suffering are now behind you, and you have the opportunity to begin anew.  Use the weekend and take the time to find refreshment. We take our cars to the car wash, take you tired body to a place of rest, relaxation, and refreshment. Your cross may not get lighter or change but your ability to carry it, your outlook of it, your weariness from it, will change as you seek strength and hope from the God who loves you unconditionally, is with you always to remind you that you are His beloved child and His greatest creation.

For today, pamper, pamper, pamper yourself. That can be in whatever way that you need to so that you can reconnect with God and allow His loving embrace to refresh you.