How?
From choosing to be obedient.
Through reservation to abandonment.
By learning to love inescapable littleness.
In battling for God, that He would be victorious and not me.
By letting His breath be what I breathe.
And He makes everything beautiful.
I have prayed for years that God would make me an explosion of love. I know that I am not there yet, and won't ever be on this side of heaven. But - today He is setting off fireworks in my soul. Everything is raw and beautiful. The flaws and fragments cause the light that He is to ricochet. God is capable of breathing stars into our littleness. Our humanity makes the grace more radiant. God makes splendor out of brokenness that is offered back to Him.
He inspires.
Today as I was waking up and coming into consciousness, I decided I wanted to pray a rosary this morning instead of going for a run. 20 minutes later, on a walk around the neighborhood, I was looking at my life and the life of Christ through Mary's eyes. Our Mother is truly a bestower of peace and solace. She always soothes my troubled waters. I felt a renewed desire to be more intentional in my relationship with her. Solution? A rosary every day for this month of October, the month of the rosary.
And then, much to my delight, shortly after my walk, I remembered that today is also the feast of St. Therese. Thank God for such a beautiful soul and an occasion to celebrate the wonders that He is still working in the world through her. Solution? Flowers. And affirmations. And I Believe in Love, a longtime favorite book of mine, based off St. Therese's writings. I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone.
Through Therese's example, the Lord has filled me with the desire to love others in little ways all throughout this month. I needed a push to be a gift to my brothers and sisters, and I couldn't have asked for a better one. And now, everything is a new opportunity to love others and be formed even more into daughter of God that I was always supposed to be. Everything is vibrant. "All for Jesus, through Mary."
I think this is what life was always intended to be. This is what it means to be fully alive, to be overcome by the Holy Spirit, to be radiant, transcendent, a beat of love in the heart of the Son. This is what I desire and this is what I'm striving to live. It will never be perfect, but it will be beautiful. I wish I could see it from the outside, or even from the inside. But it is something to experience, to embody. It is a gift.
I am ready for the beauty, for the adventure, for the love. #31daysofgrace #31dayswithMaryandTherese