Good Friday: Feel the Nails

I need to write another post on Good Friday.  But, for now, here's mine from a couple years back.  God bless you today and always.


Today, we're taking a break from the 7 Quick Takes Series to focus on something much more important: Good Friday...the day that started it all...our salvation and our great hope that one day we will be with Christ again in Heaven.  How odd is it that every Good Friday I can remember has been a gloomy day?  Today, the fog prevents me from seeing past our front gate, and mist drizzles in the air, reminding me that today, Jesus died for us.  As the soldiers beat him and jeered, he never conceded to their demands.  He never renounced His Father or relieved Himself of His suffering (something he could have easily done, being God).  Instead, he prayed.  He prayed for them...for those who were taking his very life.  In essence, He prayed for us...we are the Roman soldiers; we are Judas; we are the very ones who nailed him to the cross.

As we are called to fast and abstain from meat this last Friday of Lent, we cannot help but be reminded (as each hunger pain hits) of the ultimate sacrifice made this day so many years ago...for us.  Did we deserve it?  No.  Do we ever?  No.  But, thank God for His mercy, for His grace offers us another chance at eternity with Him, every time we fail.

And, now, as a mom, I have a tiny bit better understanding of Mary's perspective.  She watched in horror as others humiliated her Son, as they ripped into His skin with every whip, as the blood poured from His brow when they mockingly placed a crown of thorns on His head.  She knew that this was the purpose of His life, yet it did not take away the pain...the greatest pain as a parent...losing a child.  Helpless, she had to trust in God's plan.

Looking to Mary and Jesus today I am reminded of God's incredible work in our lives.  Sure, there are times when it feels as if He isn't there.  Times when we do not understand our suffering.  Times when the world gets us down and our thoughts quickly turn to what others may think.  If we are true to ourselves, those are not the times when God is far away.  He never is.  Those are the times in which He is strengthening our resolve...allowing us doubt, questioning, and suffering to share in the cross of Christ.  And when we are at our worst, He gently reminds us of those who have come before, leaving an example for every generation...Mary and Jesus.  

I can easily get bogged down in my own "pain."  Never, though, does my pain entail watching my son suffer and die, as Mary did.  Never do I have to physically carry a cross and be nailed to it in order to save someone else's life.  My pain is almost comical comparatively.  However, when I pull myself from my worry and anxiety, I can clearly see what this Good Friday is all about...a love that is anything but selfish, a total commitment to God, and a humble acceptance of His will for our lives.  Mary and Jesus knew that their ways were not of the world and that the world would not understand; they knew His will would come at great cost; they knew that suffering would rip them apart.  However, they also knew that to choose anything less than His total will for their lives would cost more.  

Good Friday is not good in the sense of a happy, giddy celebration.  It is Good because it has forever changed the world, reminding us that unconditional love doesn't stop with wishing others well and offering an indifferent smile as we pass them by.  It is Good because it reminds us that the Good is often painful; that God's will for our lives demands that we love until it hurts; that in order to spend eternity with Him, we often have to deny ourselves a "Good" life in the eyes of society.  Good Friday is not the end.  It is the beginning.  

Will I look to the sufferings of this world and wallow in self-pity?  Or, will I look past my self long enough to see Mary and her complete acceptance of a life of suffering?  Will I allow the ideas of the world to shape my own, hoping that I fit into the mold?  Or will I look to the King of the World, breathing His last breath on the cross, not trying to convince the crowd of His royalty, but instead praying for those who persecuted him while so fervently living God's call.

He gave everything so that we might have life.  Good Friday reminds me that my very life must be completely His.



You don't want to miss this video (click on the title).


Feel the Nails

They tell me Jesus died
For my transgressions
That he paid that price a long, long time ago
When he gave his life for me
On a hill called Calvary
But there's something else I want to know

Chorus
Does he still feel the nails
Every time I fail
Can he hear the crowd cry "Crucify" again
Am I causing him pain
Then I know I've got to change
I just can't bear the thought of hurting him.

2nd verse
It seems that I'm so good at breaking promises
And I treat his precious grace so carelessly
But each time he forgives
What if he re-lives
The agony He felt on that tree

Chorus 1x

Holy, holy
Holy is the Lord
Holy Holy
Holy is the Lord

Do you still feel the nails
Every time I fail
Have I crucified you Jesus with my sins
Oh I'm tired of playing games
I really want to change
I never want to hurt you again

Holy, Holy
Holy is the Lord
Holy, Holy
Holy is the Lord

April Showers aka Snows

On Monday we got a surprise little snow here.  Well, it's not uncommon to have a late snow sometimes around Easter, but I had two very excited little boys.  It was way too cold to get out in it on Monday, and after a few tears, the boys agreed to wait until the next day.  However, as soon as they woke up on Tuesday, they were ready to go.  So, out they went...

Carter decided it would be perfect timing to try out the moves he saw on the Olympics earlier this year...

I find myself talking about the weather a lot more than I ever thought I would - haha.  Sign of age?  It's just hard to believe that on Sunday it is supposed to be over 70 degrees when we still have some unmelted snow on the ground today.  I know it's been a crazy winter for everyone and not everyone can appreciate the moisture it has brought.  However, when your livelihood depends on it, you'll take it in any form it comes!

All I know is those bright little Easter eggs are going to be difficult to hide!

Prayer for Beginners (the Book)

Awhile back I finished one of my latest favorite books.  I've mentioned it here before, but Prayer for Beginners by Peter Kreeft is amazing.  Possibly, it's just what I've been needing.

I am the type who reads a book and dog-ears and underlines almost the entire thing at times.  Then when my husband reads it, he undoes the dog-ears and I frustratingly ask why. Oh, he just thought they were my book marks.  And, to his credit, I rarely go back and re-read those passages that I "just never want to forget" but what if there was a time that I really wanted to?!

Anyway, here are some of my favorite quotes from his book:

"We pray to obey God, not to "play God".  We pray, not to change God's mind, but to change our own; not to command God, but to let God command us.  We pray to "let God be God".  Prayer is our obedience to God even when it asks God for things, for God has commanded us to ask."

The following quote really hit home.  So often I find myself looking for the next great theology book to read, trying to grow closer to Him, when really I should just take the time to know him through prayer.

"One moment of prayer, of weak worship, confused contrition, tepid thanksgiving, or pitiful petition will bring us closer to God than all the books of theology in the world."

On suffering:
"That is why he does not take us down from our crosses: so that we do not substitute feelings and experiences for faith.  He wants the very best for us,the strongest and most precious gift, and that is faith."

"Comfort yourself with Him who holds you fastened to the Cross.  He will loose you when He thinks fit."

"The only way God can strengthen his presence in our will is to weaken  his presence in our feelings.  Otherwise we would become emotional cripples, unable to walk without emotional crutches.  This is why he gives us dryness, sufferings, and failures."

On stopping and listening:
"What will happen then?  What will we hear?  Let God take care of that.  Seek only him, do not use him as a means to seek any other end.  He is not your Santa, He is your Savior.  I cannot tell you what he will give you, except for one thing: he will give you himself.  He will give you more of himself the more you want him, that is, the more you love him.  He wants to pour infinite riches into your soul; prayer is a way of opening up your soul so that more of God can enter.

"In order to listen, we must look.  In order to look, we must stop.  And in order to stop doing things, we must first be doing things.  God gave us a world in which we are to work.  But God also gave us a Sabbath, in which we are to pray.  Why is the first third of this prayer -- stopping -- the hardest?  Is your work really so important that you cannot stop it for one Sabbath part out of seven to turn to the One who gave you your other work, in fact who gave you your very existence?"

I would encourage anyone to read this book!

If there's one thing that always needs improving, it's my prayer life.  I know when it's really lacking...it's when I find myself trying to fix things all on my own...wanting to repair my life and heart and then go back to God...not wanting to admit that I cannot do it alone.  While this Lent could have been the perfect time to kick my prayer life back into shape, I haven't taken advantage of it.  It's become apparent.  So, I'm stopping. Stopping long enough to acknowledge the true leader of my life and ask Him for the grace to make it through my days.  My sister mentioned starting a 54-day rosary novena for special intentions.  I think I'll do just that.
Can I pray for you in some way?