We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
– C. S. Lewis

It’s difficult to trust God enough to accept that what He has in store for us is far better than anything we can bring into our lives ourselves or better than anything we can even imagine.  If only we could trust Him enough to give him the gift of our free will and follow Him….I believe that amazing lives (and eternities) await those who do.  I, for one, want to stop settling for “mud pies in a slum.”  I pray that one day soon I’ll be able to truly give up my will to God and follow Him.  Not an easy thing to do even when you believe it’s the best thing you could possibly do.  Sigh…we’re silly creatures.

Manya

This quote was received from Daily Catholic Quotes.  Thanks Matthew Warner!

Many of us spend our whole lives running from feeling with the mistaken belief that you cannot bear the pain. But you have already borne the pain. What you have not done is feel all you are beyond the pain.
– St. Bartholomew

We’ve experienced divorce so we have obviously experienced a great deal of pain. There is a temptation to never again be involved in a loving relationship (and, of course, as a Catholic you should not become involved in another relationship unless you’ve received a Declaration of Nullity and are again free to marry in the church). At any rate, the fear of going through this pain again can keep a person from being open to another relationship.

“What you have not done is feel all you are beyond the pain.”

To me this means that if we shut ourselves down due to fear of experiencing this pain again, we may very well be shutting ourselves off from huge blessings – and the possibility of fully recovering by growing beyond the pain and experiencing the best we can be. And…it seems to me that if I built a wall around my heart, I would be dooming myself to never actually moving beyond the pain and, instead, accepting and even embracing a certain level of pain that would always remain. It’s that old, “this hurts but I’m used to it and can handle it – I don’t, however, know if I can handle what might happen if I move on.”

Each time I read this quote and think about it, it seems to have a different meaning to me. Please let me know what it means to you.
Manya

Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. – Mother Teresa

I love this quote…it’s full of wisdom (in my humble opinion).

To me it means: as wonderful as it is to love others (and to be loved by them), it CAN get tiresome and tedious and difficult at times. And to love someone for a lifetime, takes perseverance, consideration, patience and….simply, love.  Love that is real and not selfish.  Not an easy thing but very rewarding & worthwhile.

I wish this kind of love for each of us.  May the Holy Spirit bless us with the graces we need to truly love and may God bless us with this kind of love from others.

May God bless and bring you peace!

Manya

(Thanks again, Matt, of Fallible Blogma and Daily Catholic Quotes for keeping these coming…and for letting me pass them on!)

Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith but they are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the passion of Christ.

- C.S. Lewis

So…no feeling guilty about your anxieties! They’re normal – especially for those in troubled marriages and going through divorce. Ask God to help you to “Be not anxious” and
to let Him be in control.

God bless and bring you peace,
Manya

Btw…I stole got this quote from Fallible Blogma (as I so often do…thank you Matt!)

The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

- Marcus Aurelius