One thing that I struggle with is actually finding a topic to reflect on, but it’s funny because I am just taking this in as I write this. It is not more so finding a topic but just listening to what God wants you to write.
I guess it all starts from Saturday, I was asked to give a talk called “In the Midst of the Storm” at a General Assembly in the Scarborough-Markham Chapter here in Toronto. Which is a talk about the family and through the hardships you go through, the family is always there with God protecting it. If we fast forward to today, I attended my SFC CLP and todays first session was one The Christian Family. I couldn’t help but wonder, in the midst of wondering what I was going to write about today, it was right in front of me. The family, and more to it, my family.
So I grew up in a Catholic Family of four- my dad, my mom and my sister (she is one year younger than me). Praise the Lord for blessing me with a loving family, but just like any other family, we are not perfect. I remember growing up, every Sunday we would go to church as a family and I would actually dread going to mass. I just wanted to sleep in. I never really knew why my parents, most especially my mother, would want us to go every week together. Yet I never questioned it. It wasn’t until I actually started serving the Brampton Chapter as Chapter Head that I never really took in the importance of us going as a family. It’s been a couple of years now since my sister has stopped going to church, for reasons I have yet to get an answer but it really showed me how important it really is to go as a family, not only for my mom, but for all four of us. To keep it simple, we’re a really busy family- my dad works Monday to Friday and goes wherever my mom does, my mom works part time but if not she is always at home and she is just recently very active with the Sisters For Life, my sister is in school and actually lives now in St. Catherines because of her school and co-op, as for me, I am working right now Monday to Friday and on top of all that I serve the youth. Being so busy, it really is hard for us to come together and spend some time with each other. It wasn’t until I realized this that I noticed the reason why my mom always wants us all to come together for mass on Sundays. It literally is the only time that we would have together.
It’s funny too because the question that was brought up, “Are we fulfilling God’s plan within our families?”
Simply put, my answer to that was I don’t know. God works in many ways and in His timing. So because I am just realizing this now, it is definitely going to be a primary focus for me. One thing is for sure though, I strive for my family to be just like the Holy Family. To be like them meaning to surrender ourselves to God and to continue to say yes to His plan. Whatever His plan is, is our plan as well. My current prayer for my family is for us to go to Sunday masses together again, so please pray for us!
– Christian Medeiros
“But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord”– Joshua 24:15
