Who’s do I live?

As of late I have been contemplating, meditating, and thinking about my will and God’s Will.  Trying to make real sense for understanding when and where in my life am I pursuing and following my will or God’s Will.  Thus far I have learned that to determine where I am and who I am following is to examine my actions.  If I am allowing God’s Grace to flow freely and abundantly in my life, I can rest assured that I am submitting to God’s Will and not my own.  The deeper I am consciously in His Grace, I can confidently go throughout my day knowing that the decisions I make are of God’s Will even though I may not understand if fully at the time. 

I can tell you for me this takes effort.  I must surrender totally in faith to God’s Grace and trust in His Will for me.  I struggle because I am not comfortable giving up control.  I second guess myself all the time instead of trusting in God completely.   To do this I must be totally submersed in His Grace, then there can be no regrets because it is then I am in God’s Will and not my own.

To live in perpetual Sanctifying Grace (which is a habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself and is without sin), removes the scales that blind me to God’s Will.  Living in Sanctifying Grace allows me to see the actual Grace’s (which are God’s intervention or “GODincidences”) God places in my life all the time.  It allows me to accept with love and understanding that whatever befalls me for a short period or a lifetime, good or bad, it is God’s Will for me.  This open’s my mind to a greater acceptance and understanding of the work God is doing in my life for me to grow closer to Him, this is what He wants.  God’s Grace, Love, and Mercy are all we need to live out His Will for our life.  It is up to us to accept it.   This self-awareness, awareness of Actual Graces, in our lives all the time has a direct effect on the direction, decisions, and actions we choose which in turn directly effects all those God puts in front of us. By not living what God’s Wills for us, living NOT in Sanctifying Grace, and blinded to Actual Grace in our daily life directly affects those that we encounter.  We are being counterproductive to ourselves and more importantly to others.

In Allen Hunt and Matthew Kelly’s book “no regrets” they list five keys to living and dying with no regrets I wanted to share because I think they tie well into this conversation.

1. Say Yes to God– God Invites you onto a wonderful journey.   When you say yes to God’s Invitation, you know where your going.
2. Focus on the Fourth Quarter or your life’s last quarter’s Virtue- Pursue one Fourth Quarter Virtue God has specifically placed in you, something good in you.  Then watch it create blossoms in all areas of your life.
3. Give. It. Away.- The more you give yourself away, the happier you’ll be.
4. Forgive. Often.- Bitter and resentful is no way to live.  And it’s definitely no way to die.
5. Be Open to Life.- Your fourth quarter(last quarter of your life) can be more of a birthing than a dying. Be open to what can be.

And Lastly I want to leave you with a story one of our spiritual brothers shared with us.

Freddy and the Lord stood by to observe a baseball game. The Lord’s team was playing Satan’s team.

The Lord’s team was at bat, the score was tied zero to zero, and it was the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. They continued to watch as a batter stepped up to the plate named “Love.”

Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because “Love never fails.”

The next batter was named Faith, who also got a single because Faith works with Love.

The next batter up was named Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch.

Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass: ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked because he never swings at what Satan throws.

The bases were now loaded. The Lord then turned to Freddy and told him He was now going to bring in His starplayer. Up to the plate stepped Grace. Freddy said, “He sure doesn’t look like much!”

Satan’s whole team relaxed when they saw Grace. Thinking there was no way he could lose, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen! However, Satan was not worried; his center fielder let very few get by.

He went up for the ball, but it went right through his glove, hit him on the head and sent him crashing on the ground; the roaring crowds went wild as the ball continued over the fence for a home run!

The Lord’s team won!

The Lord then asked Freddy if he knew why Love, Faith, and Godly Wisdom could get on base but couldn’t win the game. Freddy answered that he didn’t know why.

The Lord explained, “If your love, faith, and wisdom had won the game, you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, Faith, and Wisdom will get you on base, but only My Grace can get you Home.