I Take off the MASK!

Compared to most flying things, a bee is very small, but the honey it makes is the sweetest of foods. – Sirach 11:3, GNT

There are times when others may look down on us, times when we are measured by our stature, our positions, our influence or our riches. There are times when we may find it hard to believe in ourselves anymore and to believe in the great plans God has for us.

During such times, don’t believe the many voices that try to put you down! Rather, listen well to the voice of God who loves you and encourages you. He alone knows what great potentials you have. He alone knows what riches are within your eternal soul.

Consider not your smallness, but the greatness of your God! Consider not what others see, but what God sees in you. – Jocelyn Soriano

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” -Charles Dickens

It is already a blessing to be able to wake up in the morning. It is a blessing to be able to have the motivation to carry on. It is a blessing to be able to laugh and to enjoy the little things. It is a blessing to have times of peace and of rest.

It is the simple gifts like these that we fail to count each day. It is the simple blessings that we often fail to see.

We fail to see that though our dreams are still far away, we are being sustained and given strength to reach them. We fail to see that though our hearts are hurt and broken, we are being given the grace to heal and to start again.

Life is a great gift. Every day, we are given the chance to start over, to hold on to our dreams, and to be surprised by the many blessings of God.

This is the day that the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! – Psalm 118:24, WEB-BE

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” – Mother Teresa

God is the true giver. From Him comes all good things, all that can ever give us happiness. He is the author of life, the source of all created things, both seen and unseen. Without His providence, no being can continue to exist.

God indeed gives us the world and all we need to live. And in addition to this, He gives each of us a special gift, a gift that is unique only to us, to the kind of person we are. He does not give everyone the same gifts, and sometimes, this is why we sometimes ask why we are not given what our neighbors have. Only God, in His wisdom knows what gifts are fit for us, gifts that will bless not only us, but those around us. It is not for us to question His wisdom or generosity. Rather, we should thank Him for His kindness and for His love.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. The Spirit’s presence is shown in some way in each person for the good of all… But it is one and the same Spirit who does all this; as he wishes, he gives a different gift to each person. – 1 Corinthians 12:4-7,11, GNT

It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes. –Psalm 119:71, WEB

Suffering is a gift—–though, like all gifts, it depends on how we receive it. And that is why we need a pure heart—to see the hand of God, to feel the hand of God, to recognize the gift of God in our suffering. – Mother Teresa

The value of suffering is quite often invisible to us until suffering has passed and done its work. While we are suffering, all we can feel is the pain, and all that we can see is its darkness. In suffering, we feel so alone, even abandoned. We are like lost souls that do not know how to find its way back.

After suffering has done its work however, we learn how it is able to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We can finally see how it has changed us, purified us and even strengthened us. We learn how it has opened our spiritual eyes, how it has taught us much wisdom.

Suffering instills in us compassion for those who hurt, understanding for those who are lost. It helps us see what apathy does. It makes us see clearly what evil can do and how powerless we are against it if not for God’s grace.

God could have saved the world without suffering, but He chose to save it by undergoing even death itself. He has succeeded not merely in defeating pain but in overcoming it. He has given dignity to those who suffer and He is able to give all those who weep far more happiness than they have lost.

“As I took up life as a minister, I tried to understand why so many people resisted and rejected God, I soon realized that perhaps that main reason was affliction and suffering. …But at the same time, I learned that just as many people find God through affliction and suffering. They find that adversity moves them toward God rather than away… When pain and suffering come upon us, we finally see not only that we are not in control of our lives, but that we never were.”- Timothy Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

“All healing is first a healing of the heart.” – Carl Townsend

If you really want to save another person, save him with you prayer, save him with the silent testimony of your holy life, save him with love. Do not try to save him with your judgments, with your mockery, with your hatred.

For you will hear his answers to your questions and you will never listen with your heart. You will hear his explanations and you will never understand.

You will think you are bringing your light when all that you really bring is your darkness. You will think you are bringing grace when all that you bring is condemnation.

A wounded soul does not need an argument. A wounded soul needs compassion and healing. A blind man does not need an eloquent speech. A blind man needs God’s miracle to open up his eyes and see.

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness. If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. – John 12:46-47, WEB-BE

“My whole strength lies in prayer and sacrifice, these are my invincible arms; they can move hearts far better than words, I know it by experience.”– Thérèse de Lisieux, The Little Way for Every Day: Thoughts from Therese of Lisieux