Category: Encouragement

All who love being comfortable, raise your hand! Did you raise yours? Perhaps you have more questions. Are we focusing on physical comfort? Creature comforts? Emotional comfort? Yes!

A colleague mentioned a book the other day, The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter, and the importance of stepping outside our comfort zone to ensure we keep growing. We are to do this less-than-fun activity not once in a while but every day! This challenge asks, “What are you mentally and spiritually willing to put yourself through to be a better human?” While I have not read this book, the concept stirs my desire for personal and spiritual growth.

For quite some time, the Lord has had me living this challenge, perhaps not every day, but often. I would not say I am yet comfortable being uncomfortable, but I’m less resistant when these “opportunities for growth” come my way. For instance, this summer, I participated in a poetry writing seminar. This workshop was difficult but also a growing experience that sparked a curiosity for this writing style.

If we don’t step out of our comfort zone, how will we know how far we can go? Perhaps this prompted Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) to share these words, “The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”

Today, the Lord challenges me in a new way – to share my poem that was a product of this seminar. This is far from my typical reflective writing style, and I have work to do to grow as a poet. However, this poem comes from the depths of my heart and time spent with Jesus; thus, it seems fitting that He desires I share it with you.

Where is the Lord challenging you to step out, to take a chance? Where is He calling you to greatness?

My All

It is You, Oh Lord, that I depend upon, trust, and desire.
     For You may my heart be set afire.
Whether lost in the dark or adrift at sea,
     You are the light that burns through my haze.

Let me rest in You, for this I plea!
     In Your heart may I spend my days.
Safe! Oh, safe, you keep me.
     Your gentle voice guides, sets straight my ways.

With a grateful heart and on bended knee,
     my eyes yearn to meet your loving gaze.
As Your love penetrates my soul, tears break free.
     My voice softly offers my song of glorious praise.

Holy, Holy, Holy is Your name!

Lord, I surrender that which You desire.
     My heart, my mind, my soul - set afire.

Linda Schwartz

Childhood memories. According to psychologists, most of us begin to form long-term memories around age five or six. Perhaps this is a gift that keeps us from remembering all of our mishaps, blunders, and struggles as infants and toddlers. However, I come from a large family that is a bit spread out in age. My siblings are between 10 and 15 years older than me, and therefore they remember my early childhood with great clarity! Both a blessing and a curse. One story they love to share is that of my red sweatshirt. According to them, I loved this plain, red sweatshirt. I delighted in having it zipped up, the hood on, and my hands in the pockets. For reasons that escape my middle-aged brain, I thought running with my hands in my pockets was a good idea. Do you see where this is going? Inevitably my awkward, uncoordinated body would end up tumbling to the ground, and because my hands were in my pockets, they were not available to brace my fall. Ouch! As I reflect on my adulthood, I realize I continued to live my life with my hands in my pockets, with nothing to catch me when I fell. 

I lived each day as if it all depended on me. My successes and failures were because of my study skills, my efforts, my parenting skills. So, when I failed, it was all my fault. Even when there was a victory, I only focused on what I could have done better. At times I could quickly pop up, rework the action plan, and try again. More often, the scrapes and bruises were deeper; and it seemed better to abandon the goal and change course. Each time I left behind a dream or goal, the feelings of personal failure and unworthiness mounted. My head received the “not enough” messages loud and clear and boldly announced them each time I considered trying again. I was living in a false state – thinking I was in control. I was running around with my hands in my pockets, not openly receiving the love, guidance, and strength that Christ was offering me. Honestly, I was oblivious to the gifts He was offering. I had no idea what I was missing out on by rejecting Jesus’s love. I had become self-reliant, frustrated, and anxious, and yet I was unable to change course. Then one day, I admitted to a friend I could no longer live this way. That is all Jesus needed, a small crack in my armor to enter into my heart.

What’s changed? I still work hard, study hard, and live my vocation to its fullest, but now I know to align my efforts with God’s plan.  I seek His will through prayer and silence, and then I try to surrender and let go of my plan. It requires I trust Him to provide. At times, this act of surrender and trust can be a struggle for me. Will He provide what I need? A glance back at my journey answers that question with a resounding YES! In my times of need, He supplied the friend, the nurse, the teacher, the patience, the strength, or the grace I needed to get through the valley. Join m and take the time to count the ways God has provided for you. Go ahead, write them down, then give Him your praise and gratitude. 

Are there times I still do not understand what He is asking of me, taking too long to answer my prayers, or seemingly leaving them unanswered? Absolutely! These times are difficult and can cause me to doubt His love for me. However, if I take a quick inventory of all the times I have questioned His wisdom, I realize the blessings poured forth from those challenges and trials. Perhaps a better way to look at these situations is – prayers answered by a Father who knows best. Can you see God’s wisdom in circumstances where you once only saw chaos? What “unanswered” prayers can you now move to the “God knew best” column?

Often, we are told not to look back, only to move forward. However, taking these glances back to remember and acknowledge the good that God works in our lives can help us move forward with confidence that He will continue to be a loving Father in the future. For example, what about those times I have tripped or fallen? Yup, Christ has been there to catch me, to give me His unconditional love, and to grant me a moment of mercy. One more time, make a list. When did He reach down and help you brush the dirt off your knees and hands and encourage you to begin again?

You see, what is changing is me. I can more clearly see that Jesus has always been there for me and always will be. I am aware that I am not alone or in control. For the first time, I am receiving Him and His love.

God has an unlimited supply of love and gifts to bestow upon each of us. He desires to provide for us, His beloved sons and daughters. However, we cannot receive these gifts if we have our hands in our pockets, our hearts closed, or are tightly gripping to the illusion of control. As you sit down this morning to spend time in prayer, rest your hands on your lap, open, facing Heavenward. Imagine today is your birthday, and your Heavenly Father is eagerly waiting to give you His gift. See the anticipation and love on His face as He lays it into your open palms. It is the perfect gift, just what your heart truly longs to receive. As you fumble to find the words of gratitude for this perfect gift, might I recommend you gently say, “I love you too, Dad.”

Perhaps you can identify with this problem. The annoyance of waking up before your alarm goes off. As I stare at the ceiling, I wonder why I bother with the alarm. My frustration is not with the early rising, but that my mind is already in motion. My thoughts begin to churn over my to-do list, I start rehash a conversation with a friend, or angst begins over an upcoming project. My mind is off to the races. I am busy, and my feet have not even touched the floor! This state of mental busyness typically sticks with me the whole day, feeding the next early waking and the one after that, and well, you get the picture. It is a self-perpetuating cycle that works its way into my spiritual life as it begins to fill my prayer time with the same feelings of worry, angst, and busyness. My default solution to solve this problem? Physical busyness.

The more miles I can run, the more projects I can work on, the more cleaning, the more going, the more doing equals less thinking time. Physical activity also provides an excellent outlet for the pent-up anxiety caused by stirring thoughts. This approach does have some benefits. There are health boosts and a clean house. Additionally, I have received beautiful moments of clarity while out for a run, and somehow scrubbing floors can help put my worries into perspective. There is comfort in the rhythm of the repetitive action of exercising or cleaning. In the cadence, my mind can rest. The problem lies in the more. I allow all the movement to hinder my ability to listen for God to speak into my heart. My mental fatigue, compounded by physical tiredness, prevents me from giving my attention to God and my spiritual life. There has to be a better option, and fortunately, God provides the answer.

Despite my best efforts to keep busy, God still finds a way to speak to me. One morning during prayer, He placed these beautiful words from Exodus (14:14) in my heart, “The Lord himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still.” Stillness. Up to this point, I felt like I was pretty good at being still. I love the quiet and stillness of Mass and Eucharistic Adoration. Yet, God persisted. Later, His call to stillness spoke through Isiah (301:15b), “By waiting and by calm, you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies.” It became clear that God was calling me to spend time exploring the concept of stillness with Him. What did He reveal? I am excellent at being still, mentally, physically, and spiritually when I am in His presence, but I fail to bring that stillness with me when I leave the Adoration Chapel or Mass. When out in the world, I let the stirring, the fear, and the worry kick my mind, body, and spirit into overdrive. Jesus had an invitation for me to deepen my relationship with Him. A call to remember I am always in His presence. 

For many, the easiest way to remember we are always in the presence of God is to pray. St. Paul writes in his first letter to the Thessalonians (5:16-17), “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.” This passage provided excellent counsel, and I was ready to answer the call. My mind instantly began making a prayer schedule. I filled my day with beautiful and meaningful prayers. This commitment to prayer is noble and good, but I began to question: does the “doing” accomplish what Jesus was asking of me? I turned a call to be with Him into a to-do list! Sometimes in our efforts to solve a problem, we can complicate the situation by overplanning and adding intricate steps. I certainly outdid myself in this instance. Jesus did not ask me to manage our relationship but to be present to Him. It was time for me to take a moment and breathe.

Breathing. According to The Lung Association, the average human being takes in 22,000 breaths a day. What if we tied prayer and being in His presence to our breath? In those occasions of fear, worry, gratitude, or joy – stop, take a breath, and invite Him to be a part of the experience. By connecting our breath and prayer, we can breathe Him into our souls. We can welcome in the calm, stillness, and love that only Christ can provide. We can share our life with Him. It is an opportunity to answer the call to deepen our relationship with Jesus. Willing to give it a try? Sit with me and listen to the song Breathe by Hillsong Worship. Take the time to be still, to be in His presence – mentally, physically, spiritually. In the stillness, God provides truth, perspective, and clarity without exhaustion. When I take the opportunity to be in His presence in this manner, my eyes gently close; I can shut out the noise of the world and more fully answer His call for intimacy. 

Healthline states the average human being blinks 14,400-19,200 times per day. In those instances of restlessness, what if we closed our eyes, just a millisecond longer than it takes to blink, and asked Jesus to remind us who we are to Him? To let Him speak the truth. To remind us that we belong to Him. We are His beloved daughters and sons, chosen, forgiven, and precious. Close your eyes and breathe. 

The beauty of this approach to praying is it can be done anywhere – without ceasing. At work, washing dishes, stuck in traffic, or out for a walk. The few seconds it takes to breathe and close our eyes, we can quickly be in Jesus’ presence. In these simple, natural, and rhythmic actions – He is present in your heart. When I make this quiet, humble connection with Christ, a smile spreads across my lips; stillness sweeps over my mind. In His presence, a brief glimpse of Heaven bursts into my soul. He is with me, and more importantly, I am with Him. In the hush of those early morning risings and throughout my day, I will trust that Jesus is there waiting for me. He is eagerly awaiting my acceptance of His invitation to be with Him. May my response always be yes. Will you accept the invitation?

Knock-knock jokes. They are numerous, and I love it when a child delights in telling me one. Recently, one of them has been playing on a loop in my head, kind of like when a song becomes an earworm. The Interrupting Cow. I apologize if it gets stuck in your head – or maybe not – I will get to that later. Just in case you are unfamiliar with the joke, here is an enthusiastic version of it: Interrupting Cow Joke, remember I warned you. If we look at our day-to-day lives, how many times does the interrupting cow make an appearance? For instance, a vacation taken off course by a flat tire, a date night kiboshed by a sick child, a last-minute call from work needing you to stay late, the umpteenth request for help from your kiddo while you’re making dinner. All of these situations, and more, can bring the best of us to a level of frustration and anxiety that allows the interrupting cow to ruin the day.

I am a big fan of to-do lists, schedules, and structure. I freely admit I am intolerant of interruptions and last-minute changes to my day, and yet, as a wife and mother, my day is full of interruptions. Add in text messages, phone calls, email requests, unscheduled visits, and I start to spiral! I begin to plate-spin, trying to stick to my schedule and striving to accomplish more. I fall prey to letting what I “do” define me, and I lose track of the fact that those “interruptions” are people I love and worthy of my time and attention. Around the time the Knock-Knock Joke started bugging me, I noticed how often my day was not going according to my plan. More noticeable was the way I was responding to these hiccups. I was feeling tired, angry, unproductive, and anxious about all the unfinished projects piling up.

Coincidently, my prayer was experiencing much of the same. My ability to rest in Jesus, receive His goodness, and surrender to His will was at battle with the distractions of my to-do list, worries and fears, and stirrings of not doing enough. If I am honest, I was welcoming the distractions, inviting them in, because they kept me from taking a good look at myself through His eyes. These types of intrusions are the true interrupting cow, and that is how I began to deal with them. When a to-do list item interrupts, I say, “Yup, that is important, but not now.” If panic about getting it all done finds its way into the moment, I turn my heart back to His love and ask Him to help me find a way. Finally, when the loudest one of all, “I am not doing enough,” budges its way in, I ask Jesus to help me to be with Him and know it He who defines me. Addressing these roadblocks has helped me return my focus to Him and has allowed Jesus to open my heart to the act of surrendering control. Are there distractions in your heart that are getting in Jesus’s way?

As I cleared the distractions, I could see the changes that He was calling me to make. First and foremost, I needed to start including Him in my plans. I had to begin with seeking His help in identifying what matters most and matters least when scheduling my day. Next, I needed to focus less on doing and more on being. Being present to my boys, my husband, my friends, and all those other lovely people God places in my life. It is an opportunity for me to surrender my plans to His wisdom. To began trusting that I would accomplish all that needed to happen and being aware it would not be at the cost of missing the opportunity to be with Him and those He places in my day. In a recent email from Blessed is She, the author mentioned the words Jesus spoke before his Passion, “Rise, let us be on our way” (John 14:31). Jesus’s words stirred a deep sense of release and a desire to walk with Him. These days I choose to end my prayer time with His words. Confident that He is with me, and He will lead the way.

This approach has provided me greater freedom to enjoy an extended conversation with a friend or stranger. It has allowed me to find the beauty in an entire day turned upside down by an unexpected road trip for our family business. I am also more readily able to recognize the opportunities for growth and potential gifts each interruption to my day will hold. Earlier this year, I read a quote by Pope Saint John Paul II that, at the time, set my mind spinning. During his papacy, a reporter asked him, “Holy Father, what do you do in your free time?” He replied, “All my time is free.” How is that possible? He was the head of the Catholic Church; how could all of his time be free? Slowly and gently (and sometimes in funny ways), the Lord is showing me how to find this freedom. More and more of my time is free because I am putting Him at the center, letting Him take the lead, and surrendering my control. This process has been far from perfect, I still get tripped up by frustration and anger, but I’m getting better at recognizing it and making adjustments. What can you surrender to experience more freedom?

Now, back to my half-hearted apology. I hope that when you hear the “MOO” in the form of an unexpected knock at the door, the unplanned detour in your journey, or your child has asked for your help for the hundredth time, you will remember that it may be Jesus knocking, correcting your path, or asking you for help. Perhaps like me, you will chuckle thinking of the cow at the door; and decide to trust His plan and surrender your control. More importantly, I pray you will answer His call, rise, and together, be on your way.

Spring has arrived! My windows are open, the lilacs are blooming, and the sun is warm on my face. As the yard comes to life, memories of watching the twin fawns race carefree through the neighborhood and the return of the sweet song of the orioles flood my mind. It is also time to turn the garden soil, pull the weeds, and sow my new seeds and plants. My Adoration partner joyously celebrates my love of gardening. A few weeks ago, her parting words were, “Linda, I suppose you have spent some time working in your yard and garden. Wonderful. Just don’t let the weeds – if they happen to appear – scare you!” Typically, I would have chuckled at her comment and moved on with my day. However, earlier in the week, the concept of weeds had come up during my morning prayer time. Her words struck a deeper chord in my heart.

Weeds. Those of us with yards, vegetable gardens, or flowerbeds know the hassle these unwanted guests create in our space. Often, they require special tools. Burning Nettle or Thistles? You better grab gloves. Crab Grass? Bring the garden claw and loads of patience. Dandelions? Fetch that handy taproot pulling tool. Why all the tools? Because if we do not pull them out by their roots, they will come back stronger and sometimes spread! Even with our best physical efforts to rid our landscape of these freeloaders, we can be unsuccessful and need to call in the big guns – weed killer.

Exponentially more problematic than the weeds in our yards are those in our hearts. These weeds are equally as fast-growing, deeply rooted, and can quickly overtake the beautiful landscape of our soul. Resentment, anger, impatience, greed, coarse language, gossip, judgment, criticism, the use of alcohol to numb, and pride are prime examples of weeds that can invade our interior garden. These offenses can quickly hide the person God created us to be, damage our relationship with Him, and hurt those we love. We should not ignore them. In the past, I have admitted my struggles with many of these issues. God has provided His grace through the “tools” of friendship, prayer, and frequent reception of the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Reconciliation to help me make headway. However, some of the weeds in our souls are products of our experiences or past relationships.

One such weed is what God addressed during prayer – a deeply rooted weed. The Voice of Shame that still calls me out. The lies it tries to sow in the precious space of my soul always take on some version of, “Who do you think you are?” Or, another favorite, “You will never be good enough.” It is an equal opportunity liar attacking my parenting, my ability to contribute meaningfully to projects, my goodness, my worth, my vocation as a wife; the list is endless. This particular invasion requires a powerful tool to eradicate it. Truth.

Truth. It is a bit tricky for me to discern. The Voice of Shame sounds a lot like truth because it starts there, but then the lies run wild, twisting themselves around the truth, choking it out. Even worse, if you have been listening to it for a long time, it can become your truth. My past attempts to refute the lies told by this insidious voice have fallen short. I am not very good at thinking on my feet. By the time I have figured out a response, it has already moved on to a different front of attack. I am blessed to have friends and family who speak to my goodness and the ability to find truth in Sacred Scripture. As beautiful and powerful as these gifts are to me, they sometimes cannot rip the weed of lies out of my heart. Why not? Fear.

I have feared this weed. My repeated failures to win at the war of words have made me skeptical that I can beat it at its game. Its relentless nature has me doubting if I can outrun it. At times, its sneaky methods have me fearful it is the voice of truth. I have spent the better part of a year finding the source of the voice that has sown these seeds of fear, self-doubt, and shame. Its roots are deep, and digging around them has been both painful and enlightening. However, the time has come to rip it out. The Voice of Shame has taken enough of my heart, enough of my peace, and enough of my identity. Enough!

To do this, I need to claim the truth, use my voice to speak the truth, and live the truth. Christ has already spoken these truths to me; He is the one who defines me. These are the truths I must speak to the lies:

These are my truths. They are your truths as well. Can you speak them, claim them, and live them? I can hear you already, “Yeah, but if you only knew…” That, my friend, is the Voice of Shame. We all have past mistakes, current struggles with various vices, and are guaranteed to experience failure in the future, but those moments do not define us. They are weeds, and we have the tools to deal with them.

Join me this spring, and do not fear the weeds. Take the time to dig around them, get to the root, and pull them out. It is a journey worth embarking on because there is beauty waiting to be shared – you! You and your relationships are worth the effort. The beautiful garden of your soul is worth the time. Do not let the Voice of Shame or any other lie hold you back from the freedom that awaits you. Spring is the season of new life and beginnings. Perhaps this spring, He plans new life for you.

Storms. Some big ones have been raging in our world for well over a year. Covid, politics, and racial unrest fill our news headlines day after day and sometimes minute by minute. Also, some equally powerful storms rocking our homes – financial burdens, physical and mental health issues, loss of a loved one, job changes – the list is endless. I have never used this blog to discuss current events, and that is not changing. However, I know these issues weigh heavy on all of our hearts, and they reveal an opportunity to grow our relationship with Jesus and grow as His disciples.

These storms are full of noise, flashing lights, and blowing winds – all of which cause a lot of confusion. Loved ones with differing opinions, news stations bickering, and politicians slinging blame are not helping us find our way. Instead, they are all a big distraction. They trick us into thinking we have some control over these storms, that our confusion will resolve if we just read one more article or listen to one more podcast on the issue. I can’t recall a time I have felt more confused and unsettled about issues in the news. In almost every conversation, you will hear these same undertones of fear, confusion, anger, and loneliness. The sense that we are tossed around in the storm, alone and without direction.

If we remember, Jesus’ disciples experienced much of these same feelings as they were tossed around in the storm. They were panicked as Jesus slept in the stern of the boat (Mark 4:35-41). Rembrandt depicts this scene beautifully in his piece Storm on the Sea of Galilee. In the painting, we see the disciples dealing with the storm in different ways. Recently I was asked with which disciple I most identify. It was easy; I am the one who looks to be heaving over the side of the boat. My choice is partly due to my propensity to motion sickness but more so related to how easily I get distracted by the storm and lose my focus. How I long to be the disciple that quietly kneels and prays at the feet of Jesus – trusting Him to provide. 

Yet as the storm rages, we can be left wondering who is speaking the truth, who do we trust? As I have wrestled with these storms and the discourse they have caused in my own heart, the phrase, “What would Jesus do?” popped in my head. WWJD has always seemed a little cliche to me, and Jesus is so much more than a cliche. However, there is some goodness to this question because He would bring His peace and love to the situation. He would speak, “Peace! Be still!” Then, as He routinely does, He would start asking questions. I can hear Him ask, “Linda, what are you going to do during the storm?”

First and foremost, I am going to turn to Jesus. I am going to focus my eyes on His. I am going to remember He is THE truth, THE way, and THE life. He is not simply another option, but THE only option. I am going to be that disciple, kneeling at His feet, seeking His guidance. 

Second, let’s be honest. I am confident I will not be receiving a call to write speeches for the president, serve on a Covid advisory board, or influence policymakers. These issues are outside of my control, and I need to surrender them over to Jesus. I will continue to pray for a speedy and peaceful outcome to these issues and do my part to help. 

Most importantly, I need to ask Jesus what I can do? How can I be a better disciple? He reminds me that I can love those He places in my life. They include but are not limited to; my spouse, my boys, my friends, the stranger at the store, the pokey driver in front of me, and the lonely shut-in on my weekly call list. I can be fully present to my faith sharing group; I can accompany a friend on a journey, I can reserve judgment and not criticize, I can give whatever He asks me to offer. St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) championed this idea when she spoke, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” You can love those you encounter by looking them in the eye, actively listening to the words they speak, and acknowledging their fear, their anger, their confusion, their joy, their hope, or whatever emotion is stirring in them. I can ask Jesus the following:

Who can I pour Your love into today, Lord?

What is the truth You want me to speak today?

Where do You need me to be Your hands and feet?

When, Lord, do you want me to act?

How can I use the gifts and talents You have given me to make a difference today?

You can ask Him these same questions during your prayer time. Is prayer not part of your day? I encourage you to start; give Him 15 minutes of your day. Surrender your worries and ask Him where you can make a difference. One word of advice, pick just one question. I’m notorious for firing off LOTS of questions to Jesus during prayer. I tend to hear His answer much clearer if I stick to just one question and give Him time to answer. 

Asking these questions will open your heart to the heart of Jesus. He will fill you with the Holy Spirit, strengthen you with the grace you will need to do all that He asks, and assure you that He will lead the way. The storms are going to keep coming, they are going to keep trying to distract us from Jesus, and they will do their best to keep us adrift. We can choose to be sick over the side of the boat and survive the storm, or we can choose to turn our eyes back to His, do our part, and thrive. Which choice will you make? Which question will you ask Him today?