evonyjane – True North Missionaries Journal

Open up little one <3

“This is the prayer we need to pray every day, every day: Holy Spirit, may my heart be open to the Word of God, may my heart be open to good, may my heart be open to the beauty of God, every day.”

– Pope Francis

Expansion

“Heart expands the mission and mission expands the heart. From small to big, then big to small. It’s like the pulse of a heart, the breathing in and the breathing out of our lungs. These expansions and contractions are the breathing, the pulsing of our Lord’s dreams in our lives”

Paradigm Shift

There is no need to differentiate between the desires of your heart and the promises of God because His character is the same behind both.

A necessary paradigm shift that not only filled my heart with so much joy but calmed the unruly thoughts that plagued my mind. You have certainly found ways to send me roses of all sorts, affirming me of Your unfailing love as You continue to pursue me.

As I journey through this lenten season and witness on a much deeper level your love story with us, I realize that I am building upon the context of our love story. Lord, though I do nothing to deserve this attention, all the more do you shower me with your graces and mercies. Your relentlessness is taking down my walls and unlocking rooms in my heart that I forgot even existed. With each passing day you are awakening pieces of me I was convinced I’d never see again. You are unveiling a beauty I felt I never possessed. You are not only making me ‘ME’, you’re making me YOURS.

5/52: Superbowl Sunday

Happy Feast of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple! Happy World Day for Consecrated Life! Happy Superbowl Sunday! =)

The Superbowl is a great gathering of athletes and fans! A culmination of a season’s worth of practices, wins and losses and hard work. It’s the main event! And even though this rings true today to some degree, a lot has also changed. (Insert commercials) Commercials really have nothing to do with the Superbowl, they play no role in whether or not ‘our’ team wins or looses, yet somehow they’ve become an integral part of the Superbowl. So much so that companies are willing to spend an x-amount of money for a mere 30second window of your time. 30 seconds of your time that was drawn away from the main event. And though I wish each commercial was rated G and promoted good values, those components don’t make clips go viral, nor do they sell the products they so cleverly convince you to want and long for. These commercials lure our attention away from the main event.

Replace the Superbowl with Jesus Christ; the MAIN event if I ever knew one! Now, think of all the ‘commercials’ in our lives that take our attention away from Him. Think of all the things we’ve bought into and were consumed by when we should’ve been watching the plays on the field or practicing our passing routes to get through a tough defence.

We’re probably never going to get rid of the commercials at the Superbowl, nor are the ‘commercials’ in our lives ever planning to go away, but it’s not about them… it never was. It’s about the MAIN EVENT, it’s about Christ, it’s about focussing on Him, it’s about watching Him follow through on each and every play….

4/52 : Growing Pains

When we were younger our bodies changed quickly to accommodate our growth. Our parents and peers often told us to ‘grow up’ especially if we weren’t keeping up with our responsibilities or with the mental awareness deemed ‘fitting’ for our age. Many times in our lives and through a various number of ways, we got pushed to grow.

But there are those times, where we don’t want to grow. Of course we don’t want to; we’ve finally found our groove. We know how things work and we’re fine with it. We are comfortable and content. We’ve found our comfort zone and refuse to deal with the discomfort we’d inevitably feel going past that.

But growth has a lot of positives! Growth forces you to learn from your mistakes. Growth challenges you to react differently, to see if you are capable of whatever it is that you’re attempting. Growth also allows you to shed your old self and your old life so that you are better able to embrace the newness of this new life.

More often than not, our Lord is behind these growing pains. He allows for situations to happen in our lives so that we may learn lessons through them. But He’s not just a teacher, He’s also our friend, willing to go through the growing pains with us! He draws us near so that we may learn His voice and then He allows for silence so that we can learn to listen. Yes, growth is hard but sometimes the best stuff, the best life is just outside of our comfort zone!

Thank you Lord for this never ending journey filled with growth and love. Thank you for being patient with me and for pushing me to grow; grow closer to you and grow more in love with your people.

3/52: Balance

There is so much to be thankful for, I’m sure I don’t have to present the laundry list of blessings we all receive on a daily basis! What I will comment on is how we often we tend to complain and stress over them. I am guilty of this =(

Maybe we’re feeling overwhelmed. Maybe we’re doubting our capabilities. Maybe things are piling up and we’re beginning to get anxious about all that is expected of us. We spend so much time worrying about the tasks as opposed to doing them that we get lost in the mix. How can we even begin to serve our Lord, if already at the start we’re hindered?

I’ve come to be reminded that BALANCE is key. If we are at an imbalance in our lives, how do we plan on tackling all of our tasks and responsibilities? How can we properly share our Lord’s message? How can we remain firm and steadfast to win the race?

More important than reevaluating our priorities is PRAYER! Prayer is what offsets all those tasks we have to take care of. And if we’ve got a lot of things to do then that also means we’ve got a lot of praying to do! It is through prayer that we receive the graces to handle such things, that allows us to centre ourselves in Christ, and gives us the freedom to rest in the Lord after a long day’s work. Prayer, both, grounds us in our faith but it also motivates us into action!

Mother Teresa once said,

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”

Let us balance our lives with prayer and realize how much of a blessing each day is. Let us be good stewards of our time, talent and treasure and make the most of each day for our Lord. Let us not bog ourselves down with worry or anxiety or complaint and realize our Lord walks with us daily, therefore is with us every step of the way. Let us begin…

2/52: Public Display of Affection

Proclamations of love have always stirred a varied kind of emotion. Some are embarrassed, some can’t stop laughing, others blush or cry. But one emotion that most people can’t identify right off the bat, is the feeling of certainty. To be loved publicly adds to our own sense of self-worth.

Now imagine being Jesus, Christ Himself in human form, who needs no reminder of His worth, might I add! Imagine the certainty He felt when His Father tore the heavens apart in today’s gospel to say, ” This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Such a public display of affection affirms why Jesus had the certainty and strength to carry out His Father’s will. He was affirmed of His Father’s love. Love makes you do the craziest things! That very love is what brought Him to His cross and that same love transcends the cross and touches our lives everyday.

Each new day given to us is just another opportunity to acknowledge the public displays of affection our Lord orchestrates. And like Jesus, we should be affirmed of our Lord’s love for each of us, individually & collectively, and from that love we should draw the same certainty that motivated the beginning of one of the greatest displays of affection known to man; the public ministry that ensured our salvation.