Affirmation: (1) This is the day the Lord has made, let me rejoice and be glad in it. (2) When I stay focused on the present, I am calmer and more peaceful.
The “big question” about how can a kind and merciful God allow such horrible suffering was addressed in my reading yesterday. Actually, what was addressed was how I, personally, can remain free of fear and anxiety in the midst of worldwide chaos. How even though I am aware of many of the troubles going on, how I can remain compassionate but not emotionally drained. Sometimes, I do find myself being distraught over world events. Do you? I don’t need to list them, whenever you are reading this, you too will know of the major traumas that are taking place. It’s impossible to not know. We are bombarded with the news on a minute to minute basis. It’s all LIVE for heaven’s sake. For me, it can be overwhelming.
In Conversations with God, Father Francis Fernandez addresses the passage from Matt 6:34, Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day. He goes on to say, “What matters is today. Worry magnifies the difficulties and diminishes our ability to fulfill the duty of the present moment. We can live only in the present. Anxieties almost always arise because we fail to put all our effort into the here and now.” We will be given the graces we need in order to contend with anything that crops up. We will be victorious!
So it seems to me that I need not ask such a difficult question. I am not going to find the answer while still here on this earth but I can trust, fully trust that God loves me and wants what’s best for me and if I can practice staying present, staying in the moment, not letting my mind and my body be worn down by the cares of the world, of worries about what will happen, I will be stronger. I will be calmer and more peaceful. I will also focus more on the gifts of each day, instead of the worry about tomorrow.
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