The Right Messages at the Right Time

Nikki Lamberg writes about the way God always seems to find a way to send the right message at the right time.

When I was in the second grade, I received a little picture frame with a Bible verse in it for my First Communion. It was pretty, almost antique-looking really, with colors of gold and burgundy, and a scrolling-type font. Inside of it read two verses from the Letter to the Philippians:

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

This has quickly become one of my favorite passages in my adult years, and I have to laugh at God’s humor with always reminding me of this just when I need it most.

Although I still have this framed Bible passage, I was reminded of it again this past weekend at Mass. It’s funny how God always has just the right message for me when I need it. I can go to church with a thousand things to remember to do, or be distracted with making sure everyone has the appropriate winter weather gear to get out the door during our Wisconsin winters. Yet God still finds a way to get through to me in the message for the day. The Holy Spirit is beautiful that way.

During the homily, our priest told a great parable of young brothers who lived together. They were sitting around eating junk food and watching tv when their mom called and said she would be there in 10 minutes. The boys instantly jumped up and anxiously started cleaning. Unbeknownst to them, all the mom wanted to do was to spend time with them.

Our priest related this story to the coming again of Christ. It was such a great message and it got me thinking. Are we running around, worried and anxious at the wrong things? Are we trying to live out the perfect life, focusing on the imperfect things, when all God wants us to do is to be there? To listen? To live our best live for Him and in Him? How should we be preparing our hearts not just for the celebration of Jesus’ birth, but the celebration that is yet to come, when He comes again to claim the living and the dead?

Click to tweet:
It is a learned art to give God all my anxieties that is for sure, and to do it with thanks and praise is almost unthinkable some days. #catholicmom

I don’t want to be that Christian that jumps out of my chair when the heavens boom and the earth starts to shake. I want to be doing my best to do the right things, right now, taking each day at a time. It is a learned art to give God all my anxieties that is for sure, and to do it with thanks and praise is almost unthinkable some days.

But I can try to remember that God is not asking for perfect, He is asking me to get up and try, and try again. He knows that I will fail, and I do too, but if I can fail forward with His help, maybe I will have one less junk food wrapper to clean up at the end of the day and be one day closer to living in that peace that surpasses all understanding.

little girl reading a Bible