Small Success: Lifting the Weight

It’s hard to remember, but as we finish up the graduations, final reports, exams, and paperwork and prepare for summer, how we live when we’re under stress is as important as how we live when things go well. Sometimes, it’s easy to revel in the moment, other times, it takes supreme effort to count blessings, because the non-blessings can crowd out the joy. I admit this past week, I’ve been distracted, working through everything, but as if through a fog. This past week, we’d been through a lot, preparing for two graduations and a graduation party, dealing with only having two cars, three to four jobs, and all ten home. It felt crowded, cramped and cranky. Everything took more to do: more work to move, more effort to finish. Worse, there were struggles, fights, little and big things which plagued the heart. However, with so much to do on the schedule, we couldn’t stay irritated; we had to move forward. Going to Adoration, I left all that I could there. We’re to do this again and again and again. I looked at the Magnificat. In the reflections, I found the words, “willingly hold onto the cross” and thought about them over and over again, how Christ stayed. I told God, I’m not very patient, I felt pinned, and I wanted to flail against all the struggles I’d watched, instead of submitting, surrendering, attempting to make an offering of it. I said, “I don’t think I’d make it three minutes, let alone three hours.” (I think I made God laugh), and went away hopeful. On Tuesday, we went to a restaurant as part of a school fundraiser, and two of my girls sang Karaoke. It felt like a taste of what we were supposed to be, sitting, enjoying each other’s company, and showing off the talents of some. It made some of the frustration and stress of the prior week fall away for me.

Christ stayed. He lifted the weight and I heard my daughters singing.

What small successes are you celebrating this week?