Let This Year Be Done

As I begin to think of the new year ahead, I am starting to think of my mission. My mission on this blog, my mission in life, my mission in faith, and my mission for the world. I began this blog almost exactly a year ago, and since then it has been something that I have felt fulfills my mission not only in faith, but in life. Fiat, or “let it be done unto me” is the phrase that started me on this journey, and is the phrase that adheres me to it as well.

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The Mark of a Mountain

“The mountains are calling and I must go,” a quote from John Muir, has always held a special place in my heart. This summer my family was fortunate to be able to visit my cousin and her family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There I began to learn what it is about mountains that captivates my heart the way it does-a connection to God. Mont Sainte-Victoire, an impressionistic painting by Paul Cézanne captures this feeling in the most beautiful way.

Courtesy of http://www.wikiart.org.

This Too Shall Pass

A wise woman named Corrie ten Boom once said: “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest.” As the German Blitzkrieg spread through the Netherlands, her room held a secret closet that could conceal up to six Jews. Her actions have been estimated to have saved over 800 lives. I bet that she told the men, women, and children she harbored something similar to “this too shall pass”. Later, when she would be imprisoned by the Gestapo, I’m sure she told herself the same thing. Though the terrors of the Holocaust are far beyond that which most of us can relate to, we all face times of great turmoil in our lives. 

Where Feet May Fail

To me, Lent is somewhat about facing our fear of the unknown, facing that which keeps us from trusting God with everything we are. As we carry our crosses alongside Jesus, we must trust with all of our hearts that Jesus will carry us to the end. He will be our Simon, uniting our crosses with his, picking us up when we fall. I have always been irrationally afraid of spiders and of heights, but my focus this Lent is on a fear that I have only realized recently.