Category: Words of Wisdom

“We may run, walk, stumble. drive, or fly, but let us never lose sight of the reason for the journey, or miss a chance to see a rainbow on the way.” – Gloria Gaither

1. Unexpected things happen. Both the desirable and the undesirable. Learn to accept both.

2. Not everything is going to be perfect, but the journey itself can still be considered blessed where the truly important things are protected.

3. Make the most of the place where you are. You may not pass that way again.

4. Some things are meant to happen no matter how much we try to prepare for everything.

5. God’s provisions are always enough.

6. Be grateful for moments of consolation and inspiration.

7. Be patient in times of waiting.

8. Rest when you can no longer go on.

9. There will be times of conflict and exhaustion. Remember that these will only be temporary.

10. Never give up!

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go.” – Psalm 32:8, WEB-BE

“It has been said that life has treated me harshly; and sometimes I have complained in my heart because many pleasures of human experience have been withheld from me…if much has been denied me, much, very much, has been given me…” – Helen Keller (deaf and blind author, lecturer and political activist)

We all suffer some kind of loss somehow. Few are those who are able to go through life unscarred. Some suffer the loss of a job. Some suffer the loss of health. Some suffer the loss of a dream. Some suffer the loss of relationships. Some suffer the loss of the people they love the most.

It’s in the nature of this life to suffer loss. No sooner do clouds form that they lose themselves and fall down upon us as rain. No sooner does the moon shine that it suffers the loss of night and it gives way towards a brand new sunrise for all of us. Even a seed loses itself and gets buried deep into the ground to give way for a growth that allows it to rise higher than it could ever think it could.

We are not the only ones who suffer some kind of loss. But we are also not the only ones who are continuously been given opportunities to gain something else. Another job perhaps, another dream, or other friends who can embrace us and share both our deepest griefs and our highest joys.

Not that anything else can replace what we have lost. Not that we could ever fill the emptiness the important people have left in our hearts. But that in time, our hearts are healed and we increase in our capacity to receive other valuable things in our lives. In time, we begin to understand God’s great design where things are lost but for a moment, to give way for all the other things that will bring us happiness for all eternity.

Therefore we don’t faint, but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, WEB-BE

“Without mercy we have little chance nowadays of becoming part of a world of ‘wounded’ persons in need of understanding, forgiveness, love.”- Pope Francis

Those who seem tough aren’t always the strongest. Those who always seem to know it all aren’t always the wisest. Those who seem righteous aren’t always the holiest ones.

With this insight, can we now begin to see others not for the masks they wear, but for who they really are? Can we now begin to feel less insecure or less angry, knowing that the person who seems to speak the loudest may be the one who hurts or fears the most deep in his heart?

May God give us eyes to see what’s truly in another person’s soul. May He give us eyes that are not quick to judge, but that which is patient in ever searching for what’s worth loving in others, especially those who seem most unworthy of our love.

But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, “He who is without sin amongst you, let him throw the first stone at her.” – John 8:7, WEB-BE

“We should not judge people by their peak of excellence; but by the distance they have traveled from the point where they started.”  – Henry Ward Beecher

You are not expected to do things you are not capable of, or to travel to places you cannot reach for now. You are not expected to be who you are not.

What is being expected from you is to start from where you are and to do the things within your reach. What is being expected from you is to be the person that you are.

Let today be that day when you start to see what you can do, what step you can take. Don’t be disheartened by the long journey ahead, enjoy the view where you are! If the vision at the end is so pleasing to you, let it inspire you each day as you get closer to your heart’s deepest desires.

The LORD will fulfil that which concerns me;
your loving kindness, LORD, endures forever.
-Psalm 138:8, WEB-BE

‘Put on Christ!’ …and you will see the wings of hope spreading and letting you journey with joy towards the future…” – Pope Francis

I’ve been to a lot of places.  I’ve had very memorable journeys that taught me much and allowed me to meet good people along the way.  I still have a long way to go and a lot more places I long to see.  But I know deep within me that our greatest journey is not our physical  journey, but our spiritual journey towards becoming more and more like Jesus Christ.

What Does It Mean to Walk With God?

• Walking with God is walking with spiritual eyes.  It is trusting the Guide more than trusting the road we see ahead, because many paths that appear good are really broken and will not lead us anywhere safe.

• To walk with God is to grow in the awareness of His love for me.  It is to grow from wanting to believe to being able to believe, from having the knowledge of His love to having the sweet experience of His presence.  There is no end to knowing Him, there is no end to the joy of walking with God.

• Walking with God doesn’t mean walking ahead of Him.  How many times have we exhausted ourselves because instead of being led by God, we tried to walk ahead of Him and go our own way?

• Walking with God is walking in the silence of our hearts. It doesn’t mean one becomes mute or speechless.  It doesn’t mean the absence of sound or music.  But walking in silence means walking without the distraction of noise and of the many other voices that distract us from hearing the sweetness of God’s own voice.  While the world presents chatter and useless talks, God’s voice soothes our hearts and gives us peace.  While the world shouts in anger and in fear, God’s voice reassures us and gives us joy.

• Walking with God doesn’t mean we don’t rest.  God knows how much we need it!  Even the great prophet Elijah was made to sleep and eat for the journey is too much for him.  Let us avail of these moments when we can rest in God and regain the strength we need to continue walking in His ways.

• Walking with God is walking in faith with the One who leads.  Along the way are unexpected turns and twists in the road, but we trust the Hand that leads us.  We trust in the God who has never let us down and who will do everything in His great power and love to lead us to eternal life.

• Walking with God often means letting go of our extra baggage so we can keep up with Him.  Carrying a heavy burden (heavier than the cross we were meant to carry), slows us down, and we find it harder and harder to follow where God is leading us.

• Walking with God also means walking with His friends.  You have the entire communion of saints in heaven praying for you.  You have your guardian angel.  You have Mary as a Mother.  God Himself is a Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), and the Church is a family where we help each other out in love and in joy.  We never walk alone.

It was God who pursued us.  If we are walking with Him now, it is because He has led us away from the wrong path.  He sought us from the darkness where we were and led us into the light of His presence.

Many people think that by serving God, we give up much happiness and we should expect to live a rather boring life. But I believe the opposite is true. When we start our journey with God, we begin our most joyful journey. With God, we can’t even guess what wonders will come our way. We are no longer limited by the thrills and knowledge of the world, and our path would always be exciting, awesome and new!

The LORD is my shepherd:
I shall lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
-Psalm 23:1-3, WEB-BE

“The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment, He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacles to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with out friends, a bathe or a football match, have no such tendency. Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”
–C.S. Lewis