Monday, February 06, 2006

Fed the hungry, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, all in a day's work

I had a breakthrough today. I was able to see my day for what it truly was. Previously I would have seen today like this:
Stayed in pajamas ‘till 2 pm, made and cleaned up three meals (if you can call them that), swept a crunchy floor which got crunchy again within an hour, didn’t take down Christmas decorations, didn’t open pile of junk mail on counter, exercised, never made it to Target to buy sheets, didn’t go anywhere.

Today, this is how I saw the day:
Started off a bit slowly and without a plan for the day, fed three hungry people three times, clothed three naked people, stopped to take time to read to the kids on three separate occasions, literally ran circles around the kids (I exercised by running around the cul-de-sac while the kids rode their bikes and pulled each other in the wagon), took time to sit and soak in the sun on a park bench with the kids, took care of a sick husband all day without grumbling or resentment, hugged and kissed the kids a lot, don’t remember feeling particularly irritated or impatient with anyone, enjoyed the kids, gained perspective and worshipped God along with Sara Groves (via cd) while doing the dishes at the end of the day, realized that today I did four of the six things Jesus mentioned in Matthew 25, and even had time left over at the end of the day to write in my blog.

Matthew 25:37-40
“`Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'”


I believe what made the difference for me today was nothing other than the grace of God. I’ve been praying for the ability to live joyously in the present moment and for the ability to see the magical moments that reside right in the midst of the mundane. I’ve also been asking God to infuse my heart with his patience and to grant me the wisdom of Jesus who took time to enjoy and play with children. I believe God answered my prayers today. May I continue to ask, and may God in his grace continue to answer.

2 comments:

Gregg Koskela said...

Marta, this is awesome! Great post. Thanks for writing it, and for showing us God.

I'm back east at a theological conference. When I get home, I have something for you that I'm pretty sure you're going to like... ;)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations. In some traditions, I think this is called nirvana.

Did you also hear confessions, offer forgiveness and wash feet? I'd like to count these among the mothering sacraments.

In fact, as I wrote that, I realized that would be a great book title: "The Sacraments of Motherhood" which would include all of these things.

Want to collaborate on a book proposal? :) We could put together a bunch of blog posts from our own and our other favorite religious/mommy blogs. Yeah, I can see it now.

On the other hand, maybe it's best to take things one day at a time.