what if

I often times get caught up in the "what ifs" in life. What if this situation had gone this way? What if I grew up in europe? What if I was a superstar athelete or musician? What would I do if I wasn't a youth minister?

I don't know if you struggle with this, but I realized that I do this more often than not. I have a very active imagination, and unfortunately, I often get caught up in it. I mean, I can create this whole world in my head of what things would be like if they were "perfect" like my little, imaginative "world". How often do we do this with our faith life?

I catch myself saying, "Lord, why is this situation any different?"
As if I were bargaining with the creator of all things?!?!?!

The reality of it all is that I get so caught up in the "what if's" that I fail to see that He is providing the grace to be present to His plan for my life, and the things HE is leading me to.

You see, it's a constant "no" that I am saying to the Father. Subtle, but it's there none the less. It's often those hard types of things like admitting when I'm wrong (which is quite often), or asking for forgiveness (also quite often), or having those tough conversations that are needed between friends (again, quite often...I'm starting to see a trend here....)

How about this: What if we stopped asking what if God did this, and acted as if His Spirit actually dwelt within us and gave us the grace to live a Godly life? What if we constantly reminded ourselves that Christ died, and rose from the grave. What if we constantly acted as if the Holy Spirit was actively bearing fruit in our lives, and the God was placing us in situations and circumstances that would make us more united with Him?

What if this week, we actually lived with an openness to the way the father was seeking to love us, especially in those hard ways which strip us of all the things blocking the way to Him in our heart. What if today I started asking "Which way Lord" instead of whining and complaining that things aren't going my way.

It's when we start looking at our lives with humility that God begins to transform his lowly servants into burning fire, and all the "what if's" fade in comparison with the Father's love.

"Arm yourself with prayer instead of a sword; be clothed with humility instead of fine raiment" St Dominic.