Men's Rosary

Life is what you make of it.  You are in charge of your future.  You can accomplish anything.  Well intentioned personal development slogans.  I spent many years in the school of personal development.  I admit that I learned much, but it was extremely limited.  When I stepped into the school of spiritual development everything changed.  Years later things are still changing.  My perspective changes and hopefully becomes better. 

We do not make our life or plan our future.  God has already done that.  The choice we are left to make, is do we submit to God’s will and plan for our life, or do we ignore God and try to create something ourselves?  Logically speaking the answer is simple because we cannot create anything!  Everything is of God and is his gift to us.  We are either good stewards of the gifts or we are not.  We either appreciate the gifts or we take them for granted.  We either love and honor God or we take him for granted. 

Sometimes we fail to see beauty before us and try to go after it.  The “grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” mentality.  We have a delightful home and live in a beautiful area, but we take vacations and trips to explore other places while not even starting to take in everything right at home.  Everything around us is a gift from God, but we tend to take it for granted.  Ever notice how after a “nice” trip away, how good it feels when we pull into the driveway at home?    

We spend hours planning and strategizing our future.  We consult with experts and the like and take steps to implement the plan.  How many times do we not bring God into the equation?  All the planning is in vain if we do not incorporate God into it.  We can aspire to things and ideas, but the key is taking it to prayer and asking for God’s intervention and blessing.  “Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  (Psalms 37:4)  Our work is complete when we have God included in it.  Personal development coaches will say that “you will get what you work for” while scripture tells us something different.  “Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.”   (Proverbs 16:3) 

We do have to be responsible for ourselves.  We are to be held accountable so we must be prudent in our actions.  But we must also humble ourselves to know that we are really capable of nothing away from God.  In doing so we will be able to keep our lives centered on our faith and let all decisions and actions come as a product of that core belief.  It really is more about cooperating with God than relying on ourselves.  “Hold your eyes to God and leave the doing to him.  That is all the doing you have to worry about.”  (St Jane Francis de Chantal)  God is working in us so that we can complete his work.  We accept or reject that.  “For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

We should take inventory of all the gifts that God has bestowed upon us and the good he does for us.  Taking time alone with him, especially in adoration, will give us a better perspective on life and what our purpose is.  It will also afford us the opportunity to see just how dependent we are.  We are God’s children.  We are the sheep; he is the shepherd.  We are lost in the darkness, and he is the light.  Give God the gift of our time and worship.  Place him at the center of everything, knowing that without him there is nothing.  “Put your heart at his feet.  It is the gift he loves most.”  (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton)

“Lay all your cares about the future trustingly in God’s hands and let yourself be guided by the Lord just like a little child.”  (St. Edith Stine)