A Sunday Thought About Hunkering Down During This Blizzard
Writing this on Saturday during a full-fledged blizzard: high winds, lots of snow. Got up the usual time and we already had a few inches. So much for the "lighter accumulations" originally predicted. And so we're hunkering down for the duration. By the grace of God, when Sunday arrives, we'll still have power.
Naturally, we don't control the power situation. What will be will be. Just like we don't control a lot of what goes on in our lives. In fact, we Catholics understand that we really don't control anything when you think about it. It's all God's will. (We've been talking about this in recent posts.)
In a sense, then, hunkering down may be a good idea even when we're not facing a blizzard. No, we're not going to stay indoors snuggled together, enjoying each others' company every day. We'll still go to work, get the chores done, and all the other stuff we have to or want to do on the outside. Where we'll be hunkering is on the inside.
Which, of course, makes perfect sense, since inside is where we find our interior life. We Catholics know that's the core of our spiritual life. It's where we "find" God throughout the day; where we "hear" Him speaking softly and urgently to us; where we find God in everything; where we remain at peace, despite the storms and blizzards in our lives.
At least that's how is should be for us. Yes, even when we're really, really busy with our work, our personal responsibilities, when pain and sadness slice through even the strongest and toughest of us. And, if you think about it, if God is in everything, and you just rush through your day never seeing Him in everything, then you are spending your life rushing past God over and over again, without the slightest acknowledgment that He even exists. How would you like it if everyone in your family, or even everyone at work, just rushed past you every day, day after day, without even saying "Hello"?
With all this in mind, here's something to help us hunker down in our daily lives. This morning, when I opened the Book of Psalms, I read this in Psalm 83:
Here's where we can and should hunker down - every day. Seek the tabernacles of the Lord. Enter into his courts. Dwell in His house. As you seek to draw closer and closer to God, in your prayers, your meditation and contemplation, when you perform you daily work for His greater glory, striving for perfect charity in your thoughts, words, and actions minute by minute, day by day.
Heck, even shoveling snow can be sanctified, a means to draw closer to God - as I shall soon find out!
Naturally, we don't control the power situation. What will be will be. Just like we don't control a lot of what goes on in our lives. In fact, we Catholics understand that we really don't control anything when you think about it. It's all God's will. (We've been talking about this in recent posts.)
In a sense, then, hunkering down may be a good idea even when we're not facing a blizzard. No, we're not going to stay indoors snuggled together, enjoying each others' company every day. We'll still go to work, get the chores done, and all the other stuff we have to or want to do on the outside. Where we'll be hunkering is on the inside.
Which, of course, makes perfect sense, since inside is where we find our interior life. We Catholics know that's the core of our spiritual life. It's where we "find" God throughout the day; where we "hear" Him speaking softly and urgently to us; where we find God in everything; where we remain at peace, despite the storms and blizzards in our lives.
At least that's how is should be for us. Yes, even when we're really, really busy with our work, our personal responsibilities, when pain and sadness slice through even the strongest and toughest of us. And, if you think about it, if God is in everything, and you just rush through your day never seeing Him in everything, then you are spending your life rushing past God over and over again, without the slightest acknowledgment that He even exists. How would you like it if everyone in your family, or even everyone at work, just rushed past you every day, day after day, without even saying "Hello"?
With all this in mind, here's something to help us hunker down in our daily lives. This morning, when I opened the Book of Psalms, I read this in Psalm 83:
How lovely are they tabernacles, Or Lord of host!
My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God.
For the sparrow hath found herself a house,
and the turtle a nest for herself where she may lay her young ones:
Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord:
they shall praise thee forever and ever.
Here's where we can and should hunker down - every day. Seek the tabernacles of the Lord. Enter into his courts. Dwell in His house. As you seek to draw closer and closer to God, in your prayers, your meditation and contemplation, when you perform you daily work for His greater glory, striving for perfect charity in your thoughts, words, and actions minute by minute, day by day.
Heck, even shoveling snow can be sanctified, a means to draw closer to God - as I shall soon find out!
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