Trade-offs in Life

By -

 

 
Our grandson figured out that if he gets right up, gets dressed and makes his bed, he will have time to play before going to school. It's pretty neat when kids make connections like this that affect their behavior, because these sorts of connections are made throughout life.

Now whether or not, as adults, we have something driving us to jump out of bed, that's another thing. Our kids acquired the habit of setting multiple alarms over the years so they'd be sure not to oversleep.

For me, I like getting my prayer time in while the house is still quiet. If I pray early, then that leaves me more time in the morning to do other things. I wish I could say I always manage to do this, but that just isn't the case.
 
Obviously, what I'm talking about here are trade-offs. Everything's a trade. We trade our time and work for money or fulfillment, we trade our energy for health or accomplishment, and we trade our rest for whatever seems worth it.

In all of this trading, some things are given up for other things, and almost without even realizing it, the decisions we make can reveal what is most important to us.

As you go through your day today, consider what you are trading. What is being gained in your trade and what is being lost, and then allow this to cause you to reconsider some of your choices.

And while you are at it, consider what choosing God will bring to your life and what you will lose if you ignore or reject him. Interestingly, God doesn't gain anything for himself by loving us, but we gain everything when we are open to receiving him.

Like the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:46) when you find God, you have everything.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com
"Like" me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/reflectionsinfaith/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SAINT ELIZABETH, MOTHER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST- Feast: November 5

By -
Image
Elizabeth appears in the Gospel of Luke, where she is described as “righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly,”.  I imagine that she was warm, loving and obviously a safe harbour for young Mary, who was not married when she conceived.  When Mary came to visit her, Elizabeth was pregnant with St. John the Baptist and in her sixth month: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And how have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, the moment that the sound of thy greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who has believed, because the things promised her by the Lord shall be accomplished.” 
Read more

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem...
Read more

'Greater Love: Richie Fernando SJ', a joy-filled Filipino missionary

By -
Image
 I haven't been able to post for more than a week as I was giving an eight-day directed retreat to eight sisters of the Missionaries of Charity near Manila. While I had some access to the internet it was rather slow. I had intended to make a post here on the murder of Fr Fausto Tentorio PIME , a 59-year-old Italian priest, in the Diocese of Kidapawan, Mindanao, on Monday 17 October. I will save that post for a later date. As I was looking for a video about Father Fausto I came across one about Brother Richard Michael 'Richie' Fernando SJ, a Filipino Jesuit scholastic who died while trying to prevent a troubled and disabled young man in Cambodia from throwing a grenade. That was in 1996 - on 17 October. Father Fausto gave his life exactly 15 years later. I remember the mixture of sorrow and pride I felt when I read of the death of Brother Richie, pride as a missionary in the Philippines that a young Filipino seminarian had given his life so spontaneously in order to sav...
Read more