"Whoever wishes to come after me, must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."
Mark 8:34
In the movie, "Julie and Julia," Meryl Streep, as Julia Child, says a line, "But what am I to dooo?" And she stretches the word "do" out and makes it sound quite whiny. Well, this is what came to mind when I studied this gospel from yesterday. (Weird, right? Welcome to my head...) I read the scripture and thought, "I must not be doing this right because I really don't deny myself anything at all...I definitely have more than one tunic! And this cross I carry isn't heavy at all...in fact, it is quite manageable. I'm not doing this right. I wondered if the command to carry our crosses and deny ourselves must always involve suffering. I read of Jesus in scripture and he often celebrated with friends and it wasn't all drudgery, was it? Then I remembered what the sisters told me about following your hearts desire. God puts the desire within you. God doesn't want you to be miserable fulfilling God's will. God loves a cheerful giver! We can always do better. We can look at our weaknesses and try to improve them. For me, it is to try and live simply, as per the Sisters of Charity (reduce, reuse, recycle!) It means to do my best for my family and my dear clients each and every day. It is to help those who struggle in their lives and share all that God has given me, including the message of the Gospel. And I may not have to be miserable doing it. And that, is a relief! Love heidi
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