Commit to Christ This Year

Happy New Year, friends!!  I am so excited to be back and focusing more on this little blog here.  I meant to finish this post in January, but alas it is February and no longer the Christmas season *le sigh*  First, let's just do a little rambly catchup!

My apologies for not replying to your comments in a timely fashion!  You may have noticed I caught up recently.  That's because Google likes to pick a "favorite" account that is dominant on each computer.  My dad's account is the favorite on the home computer and my sister's is the favorite on our shared laptop.  I finally logged in on a different browser, though, so I can reply to your comments again.  Yay!!

I've also decided to remove Instagram and Facebook from my smartphone at least for now because it is a time sucker.  And as much as I hate to say it, I find myself starting to fall into the common pits of comparison and covetousness.  So far, I have not felt the loss of those social medias and I'm actually very happy without them.  If you've been thinking about making the jump, I highly recommend it!  Even if you don't delete your accounts but just keep them off of your phone, it makes a huge difference.  Instead, I've found lots of time for knitting, reading, hanging out with friends, cooking, and enjoying the beautiful world around me!

Now to the purpose of this post.  I had the idea for it originally during Mass, but I forget exactly what I was going to write about.  Nevertheless, these thoughts and ideas have been floating around my mind for the last few weeks and I'd like to share my musings with you.  

I have been invigorated in my faith this Christmas season since it connects me with my roots and my absolute favorite devotion, to the child Jesus!  Whenever I feel angry, moody, or hurt, I try to picture the baby Jesus.  My God was just a tiny little helpless baby!  How could I offer an angry or hurtful word in His presence?  Of course, I still do fall into this sin often but by the grace of God, I can try to remember the Infant Jesus and do my best!

And even though someday I want to approach the crib of Bethlehem with my very own little family, if it be God's will, I must still approach it now, as my helpless little self.  So I've taken to picturing myself as a little wobbly lamb because as a lamb I can approach the manger all by myself and have no need to look over my shoulder.  I meekly come up to the edge of the wooden trough where His tiny little hand hangs over the edge.  I nudge my head under those little fingers, and he grasps the curly little mop of fluff on my head.  

(Whoa, I just found this image and it fits so perfectly!!)

I have not forgotten about the rest of Christ's amazing life though.  On the contrary, I have actually thought even more about His Passion and death during this Christmas season.  To contemplate the fact that this little precious baby would one day be mocked, ridiculed, tortured in the extreme, and put to death on a cross is quite a striking image.  Before Christmas during Advent, I tried to offer those I loved to the Christ Child in the manger.  But now, I find more consolation in offering them to Our Lord hung upon the cross.  His blood pours down upon their souls, His eyes embrace them, His suffering redeems them.  Whether I am missing someone or extremely angry at someone, I now try to place them at the feet of Our Lord on the cross and leave them there.  He can heal and fix their hearts, and mine, far better than I ever could.

We need to commit to Christ this year.  Father preached on the feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord and the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus that Our Lord wasted no time at all once He had been named Jesus, which means God saves, in pouring out His precious blood for us.  He did not have to be circumcised.  He was God.  But in order to show His infinite love for us, He humbled Himself in our humanity by shedding His blood even in His infancy, at just 8 days old.  He committed to being your savior by being named Jesus and taking on your humanity so He could be the perfect victim.  Why don't we commit our lives to Him?  Sure, we are baptized, designate Sundays as the day to go to church, and try to say our prayers but this isn't committing our entire lives to Him.  If we think about all of the things we do and say on a daily basis that do not bring honor and glory to God or that even outright offend Him, we can see all the room we have for growing closer to God in this life.  

The season of Lent is fast approaching and I'm already finding myself contemplating how I can grow closer to Jesus this season and how I can truly model my life after His will.  Maybe this will look like removing songs from my music playlists that take His holy Name in vain or denying myself little pleasures to make others around me happy.  Time is fleeting and we do not have very much of it on this earth.  If we wish to make it to Heaven, we need to start preparing now.  Why waste another minute on a silly grudge or fanciful indulgence?  If Christ called you to Himself right now, would you be happy and satisfied with how you've committed to Christ?  Let's not live the Christian life by parts or halves but let us order every single word and action of ours to bring us closer to God!  I want to commit to Christ this year just like He committed His whole life to me at the moment of His circumcision.

Thanks so much for reading my rambly little post!  How will you strive to commit your whole life to Christ this year?  I'd love to chat with you in the comments below!

God love you!