Home Again

Happy July 4th everyone! I pray you have a blessed day with family and friends.

My life has been pretty crazy the past few days! Drove to Atlanta on Saturday with two amazing new missionaries - it's so strange to say: "See you at Conference!" - and got to my friend's house where 4 adorable children were waiting with a birthday cake for me (made from scratch...she's such a baker). That night we got a chance to catch up, which was so good. The next day we went to Mass and two of us headed for Florida while our host left to be a counselor at a LifeTeen camp. The drive both days was pretty uneventful: we loved the scenery in TN, clutched the steering wheel all the way through Atlanta (even on a weekend!), and shouted for joy once we hit the FL border. Kentucky was somewhere in there too...I might have been sleeping.

That night, I was able to talk with my sister for a long time, definitely longer than I should have, about life and a camp she had recently worked at. I was involved with that camp for a long time. It has such potential but was a bad trap for me spiritually. Listening to stories from her, I could see the true desire to be disciples of Christ and lead others to him, yet because of our humanity and lack of guidance, falling far short of that goal. One of the most important things I learned by joining FOCUS is the need for witnesses. The world doesn't need more teachers, they need witnesses.

I was definitely NOT the best witness through high school and the first half of college. My actions were one of a lazy, half-committed Catholic while I condemned those who had commitment problems of their own. Those were definitely not some of my better days. But having lived through them helped me realize my need to pray for the graces of compassion and understanding. And with being involved in FOCUS, I have realized how important it is not to excuse my behavior, but to truly hold myself to a higher standard. In order to impart your knowledge to another person, it is necessary to prove you can say such things. For example, if you want to teach Algebra, you have to graduate from college, proving proficiency in Math and Teaching. You have the intellectual authority to teach. The same goes with morals: we must have the moral high ground. And while that sounds condescending, if you are truly living a moral life, following Christ and His Church, you will be growing in the graces of charity and understanding. With these spiritual gifts, when you fraternally correct a brother or sister, you will not be condemning them because you will be speaking from the Holy Spirit. We cannot be leaders in faith walking behind or even with our brothers and sisters, we must walk ahead and show them the way.