Day 13 Monday March 2 – [P] Spirit
RO: We have a God who calls us home no matter how far away we feel. I don’t care what your sin is, what your sin of choice is, what you’ve done or how many times you’ve done it. We have a God that says “Come home.” // Our faith is a journey and you don’t have to be perfect to go to God but it is going to God that perfects you, that changes you, that makes all things new.
Daniel 9: 4B-10
“Lord, great and awesome God, you who keep your merciful covenant toward those who love you and observe your commandments! We have sinned, been wicked and done evil; we have rebelled and departed from your commandments and your laws. // O LORD, we are shamefaced, like our kings, our princes, and our fathers, for having sinned against you. But yours, O Lord, our God, are compassion and forgiveness!
Luke 6: 36-38
Jesus said to his disciples: Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you
By the time I put Nora to bed my spirit for the day had dwindled down to nothing and I was ready for bed myself. She simultaneously brings so much joy to my spirit and exhausts me physically, making me so tired I run out of steam. Ryan told me to just plow ahead (which is what he was doing) and just make myself continue on. In reflecting on my exhaustion and “Spirit” here is what I realized:
Our Spirit lies within us – when we nurture it springs forth, ready to greet the day. Just focusing on the day-to-day risks letting the challenges of life weigh us down and risks silencing our Spirit. Life can give us things that strengthens our Spirit, but it can also bring things that crush it. If we think of our Spirit as being up to us to make or break we miss the greatest opportunity God has given us to invite Him into our hearts.
God gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us in life and strengthen our inner-spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that is always there. Sometimes we may be too tired to see that He is there in us and offering us the strength we need, and it is then that we most need to call on the Holy Spirit – for strength, for peace, for hope.
When we think of “spirit” we often think of ourselves and our personal spirit; we use our heads to try to fill our hearts. We need to stop doing that and instead feel the “Holy Spirit”. The Holy Spirit is not something just in our heads or our hearts or in our hands or in our words – but everywhere within us and around us. When we remember to call on the Holy Spirit and bring God in to our lives we will feel very full in God’s love.
“The Holy Spirit is an inexhaustible well of the life of God in us.” – Pope Francis
Part 2: My Grandma Grinko was a very religious, very loving, very supportive person. She always seemed to have stories about how she was in a situation that required communicating God’s love for the person. She would say she prayed to the Holy Spirit to guide her words because she often had no idea what she was going to say. She always gave the Holy Spirit credit for being able to say the thing that the person needed to hear. And she was always amazed at how the Holy Spirit worked thru her. Her “sermonette” lessons have sat in my heart thru this very day. When I have no idea what I need to say I think of my Grandma and say a prayer to the Holy Spirit to enter in. I trust in the Holy Spirit to guide my words. (And I get that awesome bonus of remembering and feeling the presence of my Grandma.) Let me always remember: I am a vehicle for the Holy Spirit.
Continue to Day 14
Give God Your Yes 