Last year I wrote a talk for my high school's Spring Retreat. Since it corresponds to Lent, I thought it would be a good topic to post. However, instead of boring you with my entire 10 page story, I took bits and pieces of it that really have some meaning. (side note: I wrote it like I talk so some parts may sound a little funny!) Well, here it is :) ...
March 26, 2010
As we approach Holy Week this Lent, we are preparing for the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. In doing so, each and every single one of us is called to come to the foot of the cross and offer up all of our sufferings for our Savior who died for us. We are to bring everything we have to the cross and give it all to God; give our whole lives to Him, and realize that if it weren’t for Jesus’ suffering on the cross we would not be here. It’s especially during this Lenten season that we are being called to the cross, because we are making penances and sacrifices, as we remember the greatest sacrifice of all. However, it is SO much more than that! It’s everyday that God is calling us to draw near to Him. He wants us to follow in His son’s footsteps and give our lives to Him now, to share eternity with Him in Heaven. But, we all know it is never as easy as it may sound. We are faced with so many difficulties, big and small, that hold us back. We meet obstacles along the road in our lives that seem impossible to overcome. And these are the times where a lot of us would find ourselves struggling spiritually. This is when many of us will question God’s reasoning. We often blame Him, and sometimes we may even doubt His existence. It’s times like these where we do almost the exact opposite of what God is calling us to do.
(Suggestion: Look up the lyrics and listen to "You Were on the Cross" by: Matt Maher...I reference this throughout my talk. Go
here for a YouTube video with lyrics.)
So we all know that there are many different problems in the world today; for instance, the people in
Haiti. (remember this was last year, but now Japan could relate) The estimated death toll for those tragic earthquakes is reaching close to 200,000 people. That’s 200,000 people who probably left friends, family, and relatives behind. I can’t even begin to imagine what they are going through. Then there are still families suffering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which left numerous people homeless, sick and in such an emotional state of pain. And even a few years back, I bet people are still affected by the losses on 9/11. These problems affect large numbers of people and sometimes even groups, such as a state or country as a whole. But on top of these worldly problems, we each face our own individual struggles, things that are personal to us. So it’s pretty much a fact of life that we are going to face problems. I don’t think anyone goes through life without meeting some kind of trouble along the way. But for each and every single one of us it is going to be different. What may seem so small to one might be a huge difficulty to another. But the main thing we all have in common during these different times is just like in the first line of the song—“lost, everything is lost”. We feel hopeless when “everything we’ve dreamed and hoped for came crashing down”. And this is where most of us begin to turn away from God and start asking questions like a few lines down in the song. “Where were you?” when all of this was happening. We feel alone and wonder why God isn’t with us, but deep down we know that isn’t the case.
...At this point I told my story of tearing my ACL my senior year basketball season, a time when I felt lost and alone and doubted God. I'm leaving out all of those details and jumping toward the end of my talk now, if you really want to know the whole story just let me know :)...
I broke down in tears. But my tears were not because I was upset about not being able to play. I was in tears because of how guilty I felt for making such a huge deal out of my problem and for ever even doubting and questioning God. I am so grateful for the opportunity I was given and realize it wouldn’t have been possible had I not torn my ACL. This was where I began to realize that it was the opposite of what I had thought. I started to believe that God was with me and that He was behind it all. That it was something He sure wanted me to experience and be a part of.
It wasn’t until writing this talk that I realized I had been blind to the greatest good I was experiencing; and that was how much I’ve grown in my faith because of my injury. Although I started off struggling spiritually, by the end of it all I realized how much not being able to play had taught me. I was so caught up in being sad and upset all the time and feeling sorry for myself, that I never even paid attention to the good that was there almost the whole time. And I think that’s the reality of it. It seems so much easier for us to be down and upset that we let it overpower the good. God wants us to come to Him during these troubling times, but often we do the opposite and turn away from him and we let it overpower His call. But in a greater sense, we have to ask God to help us realize that life is not always easy and fun, and that we learn most when our life is temporarily a disaster. God uses these times of disaster to teach us things about life and draw us to Him. This year, yes it seemed like the end of the world to me, but years down the road I know I will see the reason behind every bit of it, because God has a plan for me; He has a plan for me and for each and every single one of you. Everything we do in life and everything that happens to us is for a reason. Jeremiah 29:11-14 says “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the Lord." Everything is a part of God’s plan and His plan is nothing but for our own well-being. In that passage, He tells us that anytime we call upon Him, He will be with us. We can never doubt his existence even in our times of struggle.
I found myself struggling this whole year with basketball, but we all face problems day to day. From little things like failing a math test, to greater things like your parents getting a divorce, or losing a family member, or some could even be suffering from problems like eating disorders or peer pressure. But, the next time you find yourself facing a huge difficulty, pray to God. But don’t just pray to God asking Him to make everything better for you right then and there, pray to God trusting that only He knows what’s best for you and has plans only for your good. Mother Teresa said “I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle, I just wish he didn’t trust me so much” When you’re feeling lost, know that you’re not alone—God is always with you! One of my favorite bible verses is Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; in all your ways be mindful of him and he will make straight your paths” Trust everything that God has in store for you and give your whole life back to Him and He will lead you down the right path to Heaven.
Think about the Gospel reading the first Sunday of Lent, where Jesus was fasting, tempted, and suffering in the desert. In comparison to our lives, we all have our own desert, where we find ourselves in great suffering. I don’t think there is anyway we would want to compare our suffering to that of Christ. We suffer selfishly for ourselves, while he suffered for all of us, to save us. We must unite our suffering to his. And when we’re in our desert suffering is when we ask the question from the song—where were you? The answer is simple, this is where Jesus was...
He was on the cross.
>>"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil...He said in reply, 'It is written: One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.' " -Matthew 4:1,4<<
>>"Seek the LORD while He may be found, call Him while He is near." -Isaiah 55:6<<
