I would like to share with you a piece of wisdom that was shared by a priest to ponder and pray about:
The Devil appeared to three monks and said to them: “If I gave you the power to change something from the past, what would you change?”
The first of them, with great apostolic fervor, replied: “I would prevent you from making Adam and Eve fall into sin so that humanity could not turn away from God.”
The second, a man full of mercy, said to him: “I would prevent you from God and you will condemn yourself eternally.”
The third of them was the simplest, and instead of responding to the tempter, he got on his knees, made the Sign of the Cross and prayed saying: “Lord, free me from the temptation of what could be and was not.”
The devil, giving a raucous cry and shuddering with pain, vanished.
The other two, surprised, said to him: “Brother, why have you responded like this?”
He replied: “First, we must NEVER dialogue with the Devil. Second, NOBODY in the world has the power to change the past. Third, Satan’s interest was not to prove our virtue, but to trap us in the past so that we can neglect the present, which is the only time God gives us His grace and we can cooperate with Him to fulfill His will.”
Of all the demons, the one that catches the most men and prevents them from being happy is that of what could have been and what was not.
The past is left to the mercy of God and the future to His providence. Only the present is in our hands. Live in the moment.
I shared that story with you because I have seen so many people who get so stuck with past mistakes, errors, and regrets, or are not happy with how the world does not turn out to be the way they like for things to be. Too oftentimes, too many of us have been guilty of being stuck with what could have been and what was not instead of choosing to love and live in His present grace.
We tend to swing to both extremes but miss the opportunity to truly be present in the present moment. We tend to either live in the past with unhealthy nostalgia or regrets, somehow thinking that things were better back then, or letting our mistakes eat us alive. We somehow draw a perfect or better-than-now picture of how things used to be, but we perhaps have forgotten how reality really was! If we really think about it, life was not really easy. Perhaps we were sheltered and cared for by our parents when we were young, so we did not see the true version of reality. Perhaps we have chosen to forget or ignore the sad and challenging parts so as to focus on the good memories that gave us life! Nonetheless, reality teaches us that life is never perfect.
As a matter of fact, we are living in a day and age that many have never imagined before! We are living in a time of abundance and blessing that a generation or two ago could never have imagined. Nonetheless, so many of us do not see the blessings because things are not as we would like for them to be. I think we have been so busy wishing about how things could or should have been that we miss the opportunities and blessings that are right in front of us. We could be so busy trying to make things happen and move on to the next thing that we miss the small blessings that are interwoven between the challenges of life.
Will that recognition help make life easier? Probably not! Will it make life more bearable at times? Perhaps. Each day will have its own evils and obstacles, just as there are blessings and moments of grace, too. There will be days that we give to live, just as there are days that we have to survive and try to live above the chaos. There will be days when the chaos gets too much, and we get tired. There will be times when we question God’s timing and His goodness because it seems like everything is just too much.
No matter how much we try to make things perfect, life will always remain imperfect and with challenges. We are broken human beings. Nonetheless, God can still work in and through broken things. I am just glad that I am not perfect, else I would think too highly of myself and make everything depend on me. I have had to learn many times that I am not the Savior and I cannot save everyone! If everything goes my way, where would be the opportunities for grace and humility? If I get what I want and life is without trials, would I become too self-centered and dependent on my own abilities? Hardships, trials, obstacles, pains, and sufferings are hard. No one likes them… We all try to avoid them! Nonetheless, I believe we have and can grow a lot from them.
It is not always easy, especially when we want to control or take action with what we think is best for us according to our human comprehension and understanding, but we need to remind ourselves of how faithful He is to us and how His love wills our ultimate and eternal good. We might not have all the answers or be in control, but our faith teaches us the real reason why we believe and Who has the answer and is in control. Therefore, we are called to embrace the unknown mystery of our faith in a joyful trust that God desires and wills our good because He has been faithful, caring, and loving our very own lives.
The life of faith is not about knowing and controlling everything, but lovingly putting ourselves in the hands of the loving God who created, saved, and redeemed, and continues to sanctify and lead us on our journey back to Him. Childlike faith is a simple faith — but hard to put into practice — that trusts in the One who cares for our good because we have a personal, loving, and intimate relationship with Him, and we should strive for that each day so we are able to embrace the creative tensions that exist in our daily ups and downs. Truly, each day gives us the opportunity to begin with a simple, humble, and loving trust, willing to walk, abandon ourselves, and take each step with the Lord.
So, let us ask ourselves whether we truly believe, allow, and open ourselves up to God‘s generosity and guidance beyond our imaginations. Are we willing to let go of our comfort zone, castle, or things that we have built for ourselves in order to follow Him? Are we willing to let Him tell us who we truly are, or will we still be scared and trying our best to become someone that our society wants us to be? Are we willing to embark on a journey of self-emptying, sacrificial, and genuine discipleship in following where the Master trod? These are hard questions, but they are questions that require us to truly be true to ourselves, be firm in our integrity and Christian values, and be willing to follow Him at all costs. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, do not be afraid but allow ourselves to be firmly rooted in Christ, as well as to humbly walk with Him in love.