Be A Blessing!

Boy, I'm mentally drained between reading all of the election stuff flying around on social media, our Giants going to the World Series, (for the 2nd time in a row:) and lots to reflect upon for this newly declared Year of Faith.  What do all of these things have in common, I've asked myself?  
Maybe they don't really have much in common 
except that in the end they're all just good...  
Even though my mind is cloudy, much like the photo above,
there is still light and things are still good...
Good only because God ultimately makes everything good.
"We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.

But I just can't help but wonder whose going to win?
It can be a little bit stressful, don't you think?
Ultimately the way I see it, regardless of whether you win or lose a game or an election..
 in the end, 
God still prevails and He is good.  

I don't mean to diminish the precious lives and freedoms that are at stake during this election (by clumping it with the World Series;) but if I'm honest with myself as a person of faith, 
I must believe that
God has a plan...
He has a plan for everything.
From the littlest things to the big things, 
He's got the wheel.
 And despite how much we think we have control over any of His plans, we have none, nada.  
"I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.~Romans 8:18
I know this with all of my heart
yet somehow I still struggle...

When I see things through my own lens of faith, for example, it's very difficult to understand how others can't see things the way I do.  In terms of the election and voting with a Catholic Christian conscience, it's really a no-brainer, it's clear-as-a-bell for me...
How can the average human person not see, very clearly, that the unborn child is the most vulnerable in our society?  How can fellow Catholics not clearly see how we should vote?  There's plenty of articles, like the one (linked) above and this one from Catholic News Agency, to help shed the light, for goodness sakes!
*Stop* How quickly I forget 
that this has not always been the case for me. 
Being a revert to the Catholic faith has been one-step-in-front-of-the-other, a process, a work in progress.  
I have not always known or seen things the way I do now...
Amazing grace saved a wretch like me, 
I was blind and now I see.
"Blessed be God who lives forever, because his kingdom lasts for all ages. For he scourges and then has mercy; he casts down to the depths of the nether world, and he brings up from the great abyss"~Tobit 13:1-2

*Stop* How quickly I am reminded how turned off I was by people who made me feel inadequate on my walk of faith, who were condemning by the way they spoke or looked down at me in judgement...
Their legalistic lingo lacked love.
*Stop*
How quickly I remember those who were kind and gentle with their teachings. 
The most receptive were those who shared stories...
Wisdom spoke to me through their mistakes...
 as they came out on the other side, the side for good.
The truth shined through...
Truth shot through the heart.
*Stop*
I want to be like them...
The ones who lead me by example...
The ones who practice their faith completely,
though not perfectly.
Those who spoke the truth confidently to me, mostly by their actions...
They live for God alone.
They are a blessing by their love.
"Do everything for God, uniting yourself to him in word and deed." ~St. Francis de Sales

I want to be a blessing
to my family, friends and strangers alike...
It's my new motto for the Year of Faith,
a time when Catholics are called to renew their faith and educate themselves more so that they may encounter Christ more deeply.  In turn, it is hoped that we will discover the joy of living and practicing our faith more fully.
This last line struck me.
Archbishop Chaput recently said that "Catholics who take their faith seriously vote as if there's much more than a cultural affliliation; Instead there's a very personal affiliation with Jesus Christ and his community."

What if all Catholics were serious about their faith?
What if all Catholics practiced their faith more fully?
What if?
Why not give it a try...
In this year as we are called to a new evangelization,
What might this mean and what do we have to offer?
Marc Cardaronella from Evangelizing Catechesis has a great article to consider.
Let us take a good look at ourselves...
Let's share the love of Christ...
Let's Be A Blessing!
After all, what have we got to lose?
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8: 38-39
P.S.
Go Giants!

Me and 2 of my sisters:)