How fitting that the first Saint this book focuses on is our spiritual Mother, Mary.
Everyday, the chapter ends with seven small scripture readings and devotional prayers (one for each day). I started writing them on a white board on our refrigerator, and I find that in doing even such simple things like this allow me to more frequently reflect and pray. I find that it is making me more patient as well.
Mary, the Mother of God, often strikes me as almost unrelatable. After all, how am I, even supposed to fathom being close to being anything like Our Blessed Mother? However. that kind of thinking is a bit of a hurdle one should pass, as while we will never be on par with Mary, to emulate her perfection and holiness is part of striving towards Heaven and a Chirst-filled home.
I made the comment earlier, that I find that writing the reflections in a place I come across quite frequently (after all, a 1.5 and 3.5 year old are constantly starving, no matter how often or how much you feed them) make me more mindful of spiritual things. Now, when times before I would be frustrated or stressed, I find I say Hail Mary's or I'll read the reflection and it will remind me of how petty what I am upset about truly is in comparison.
This week, has been one of perspective.
I haven't posted to this blog in ages, and I think it's been pretty stagnant for a long time. While I don't think my posts will be the same as my husband's , I think that here is a fairly pertinent place to put what I want to work on...which is...sort of lengthy to explain (for me at least).
It is very hard, to keep commitments when you have children, let alone two, let alone eventually more. However, that is not to say that you shouldn't, especially one's focus on God, religion, and the Eucharist. I really struggle with balancing my vocation to marriage (and therefore family) and how I am to incorperate my spiritual life within that - after all, it is next to impossible to truely focus on Mass when you're juggling two children. However, that is an easy cop out, and perhaps an excuse. In other words, there needs to be some real spiritual grounding in my life that has gone (sadly) missing. It is my aim and goal, to turn that around.
Back during Advent, I downloaded on Kindle a book that focused on a different Saint every week for a year. I read it maybe twice, but then it sat gathering proverbial dust on my tablet. There's no good excuse for me to have stopped reading it. If I tallied up the hours I spent eyeing Facebook and reading (and I confess, judging or fighting and a myriad of other petty things) it would be not only embarrassing , but downright shameful.
So here it is - I am going to commit myself to not only reading this book, but also blogging about it once a week. The end of the chapter provides great springboard questions that I will discuss and post. I'll lay it out in the open, because I think if left to being too private, I am prone to, let's be honest, laziness.
