On New Year’s Day, I am watching the Rural
Network presentation of the Rose Bowl Parade when I get interrupted with a
phone call from a friend in New Jersey. This unique, special man who has served
God faithfully as a priest and in retirement travels the country competing in
archery. We share “guy talk” for over an hour but some interesting themes were
coming out of our discussion. I’ll put them in the form of resolutions for
2014.
ONE:” Take good care of yourself! This means
physically, mentally and spiritually. My friend recently attended a retired
priest gathering and was shock to see so many of his colleagues suffering from
dementia or physically unfit. Do something that makes you want to move leads to
resolution number two.
TWO: Get moving! Enough computer gazing or
whatever you feel you can’t live without. Put on the long underwear if you live
in Western New York or sneakers if you moved to Florida for the next four
months and get moving. This leads to resolution number three.
THREE: Do something that turns you on. Something
you really enjoy. For my friend, shooting arrows and hitting the bulls-eye, for
me I put on my long underwear in 14-degree cold and slide across the field and
over the steams to take this shot that you are looking at on your computer
screen. Maybe you need to practice at your piano, or get into the garage and
start turning out wooden bowls. This leads to resolution number four.
FOUR: Stop all the whining about what’s wrong
with the church and the weather. Make a difference yourself! In our discussion
about ministry, we imagine the new pope is leaning to invite women to serve as
deacons in the church. Fantastic! We sense an openness to invite married
priests back into ministry to serve the needs of many priestess parishes. Why
not offer your talents and help teach a religion class, or serve as a greeter
or the hospitality group or be a Eucharistic minister and visit someone
homebound or in the hospital. This leads to resolution number five.
FIVE: Forgive yourself and forgive those who have
hurt you in the past.
We carry lots of baggage that weighs us down that
makes us grumpy. We are no longer joyful because we have yet to surrender the
hurts from our past. Yes, it takes time to heal, but pray for forgiveness and
know that God listens to our cries of injustice and Jesus will come to heal and
help us move on. Let’s try one last resolution.
SIX: Quit__________________. You fill in the
blank. Promise yourself to get extra help if you have been unable to let go of
this nasty habit. I promise to pray for you that you get the help you need to
feel better about yourself.
As you reflect on this snowy waterfall,
let your heart pray these verses: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own
insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your
paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Lord, I will continue to pray for all my Sonshine
Friends in the New Year that that God will help you find joy and peace in your life.
