Kaye Baylon – Page 2 – True North Missionaries Journal

Praise God

If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.

John 15:18

I’ve never really received backlash for my faith. I remember being young (and dumb(er)) and waiting for people to bring up their beliefs. Mostly because I wanted to shut them down. I was a gifted debater and reader of all things. I thought I knew my stuff. I thought I was all that.

And when I started believing in a God I never really thought I would ever believe in, I was blessed to be able to continue this journey with few roadblocks – or at least roadblocks that were set up by people who hated my relationship with God. I was blessed to never encounter the person I used to be. Until a few days ago.

Maybe I’ve avoided those kinds of people because I’m very cautious of what I post. I’m ready to rush to someone’s aid when there’s an attack on God on Facebook or other online forums. But I am rarely, if ever, the one to initially post something that could be attacked. But about a week and a half ago I did. And there was a landslide of likes. And so I went happily about my day. But then I received a text. It told me, among other things, that I was a bad person and that I just post pictures of God to hide that fact from others. And I’m not going to lie, it made me sad, and mad, and I really just wanted to yell at this person. And throughout that conversation (I did not text yell or curse, don’t worry) I found myself calming down. Because throughout it all I prayed that God would give me strength to do His will, whatever it was in that conversation. And though that person isn’t talking to me now, I know that in those hate filled words that were hurled at me, God was speaking. They hated me first.

I’ll Follow Jesus

I went into the past weekend feeling weird. Last weekend was Cana Weekend for CFC, and the North American Kid’s Village for KFC. And I knew that this would be the last KV I would ever lead. I kept expecting an onslaught of hectic phone calls and frantic last minute preparations in the last few days – even on the Friday. But none of that came. God really blessed the KV with an amazing service team that really just wanted to do their best to reach out Christ to the kids. And I kept wondering why God didn’t ask more of me during the KV.

And then Saturday came. And along with it, came a perfect little boy – James. During morning kid’s praise you couldn’t help but notice him. Standing in the very front, away from everyone, just clapping and dancing along. But after, he didn’t want to be with the other kids. He didn’t want to interact with any of them. James has Down Syndrome. He wasn’t able to talk, or really communicate what he was feeling or what he wanted. Aside from a few bits of sign language, he mostly just wandered around, sometimes angry, sometimes calm, sometimes full of joy. And I knew that this is what God had prepared me for. He wanted me to focus my time and energy on this little, perfect boy.

I kept remembering what my ate Candy once said about people with disabilities: these people are sinless. And that entire weekend, even though I definitely spent more than 75% of that weekend outside in the hallways, I truly felt honored to be able to serve this perfect example of God’s love. More than any other KFC event has done, James taught me patience and understanding, he taught me love and kindness. More than any session or workshop could have done, James taught me to follow Jesus.

My Cup Runneth Over

I remember reading a book where the main character first sees something beautiful. And she knows that it is truly a gift from God. And she has no words to describe the feeling she has. So finally, all she can say is, “my cup runneth over”.

One overwhelming message God told me during the Pacific region core SHouT was “your faith has made you well”. To me it echoed in all the readings, in all the sessions, in all the workshops. The feeling we get when we are together in God is not a feeling that is reserved for us alone, it is available to everyone. Everyone is invited to come share in the joy of our Christ. But it is our choices, our actions, our response to the invitation from the Lord that gives us the privilege of being able to feel the Holy Spirit within us. We can be nice everyday, help out others everyday, be helped and loved by our friends and family every single day. But if we can’t acknowledge that this is all a response to the love of God, then we can only partially feel the amazingness that comes from all we do and all we encounter. If we can’t acknowledge the loving kindness of our Lord, we can never truly be healed – we can never truly be well.

Our God said, “seek and you shall find me”. And He was in every action of my brothers and sisters, in every early morning wake up, in every late night giggle, in every tear, in every affirmation, and in every breath. My cup runneth over.

PGGB

Seek and you shall find

There are times when I’m so busy looking for God that I forget the most obvious thing – God is everywhere. He is in everything and in everyone. He is in me.

Our Lord says to stop asking for miracles because your lives are miracles. A true miracle is a child in the womb; a mothers love is a miracle; a forgiving heart is a miracle. Your lives are filled with miracles, but you’re too distracted by material things to see them. Jesus tells you to open your ears to hear his messages and open your hearts to receive His love. Too many people have lost their way and walk the easy road that leads away from God. Jesus says to pray to his mother, and the Blessed Virgin Mary will lead you to God Almighty. The Lord has come to you with messages of love and the promise of eternal happiness, yet you ask for miracles instead. Stop looking to the sky for miracles. Open your heart to God; true miracles occur in the heart.

Segatashya, Our Lady of Kibeho

Our Call

“You are called to holiness.

That may mean that you are a nun or a lawyer. You may be a mother or a single professional. But God’s will for your life is the same: holiness, no matter who you are. That is why we are created. We are created to be holy in love, in love with God, in love with other people, and in love with the community of believers. That’s what we are all destined for – holiness in love.

When you suffer, you are being conformed to the image of Jesus. When you pray, you are being made holy in the image of Jesus. When you quietly serve a person in need, you are being shaped into the image of Jesus. When you generously give, your heart is being remade into the image of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.”

– Allen Hunt, Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor

True Riches

In 2008 I went on my first mission trip.

I went to the Philippines to help build homes for the poor. I was so excited. It was my opportunity to give hope and joy. It was my opportunity to save them from their situations.

But after a long day of mixing cement and carrying hollow blocks – tiring and back-aching work, the beneficiaries invited us to daily Mass. And, even with the little they had, I saw them give what they could to the Church. And that’s when I understood. My expectations were wrong. The people I was helping, the beneficiaries of the future homes who built alongside me, they weren’t looking for a saviour. I wasn’t going to swoop into the slums and save them from poverty. I wasn’t going to be the bringer of joy into their lives.

Though they were poor materially, they understood what true riches are. The materially poor know that they are poor. They strive and work towards a better life. But those who do not know God are ignorant of what they’re missing out on. Those who refuse to seek the face of God, who refuse to do His works – they will never see the kingdom of heaven. They may have the riches of this world, but lose out on the riches of eternity.

I couldn’t help save them because they didn’t need saving. They needed help to build their homes. They already had a Saviour.

Come to the Feast

What is so beautiful about the Catholic faith to you?

Many times I find myself at home in the community of Couples for Christ. I find it in our assemblies, our meetings, in the early morning wake up calls to worship. But Couples for Christ isn’t my home. My home is in the Catholic Church.

There is a line in the song “Table of Plenty” that goes: Come and sit at my table, where saints and sinners are friends. I wait to welcome the lost and lonely, to share the cup of my love.

And that is what’s so beautiful to me. Everyday I am better and better for my God, but that just means that years ago I was a sucky person. But God loves me the same at my best as at my worst. When I falter and fail Him, He still loves me. He still welcomes me. He still wants me. Even if I’m a moody, antisocial guest in His house, He still invites me to His table. He still wants me to join in the feast.

Laudetur Jesus Christus. In aeternum.