The Kat House » religion

He Said No

Tish — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:59:56 +0000

I am about halfway through Mitch Albom’s new book, Have a Little Faith. A nonfiction account of a series of conversations between Mitch and his rabbi, the book does an excellent job of showcasing the similarities between Judaism and Christianity. There is one particular quote that touched me and has stayed with me over the past few days.

“It is far more comforting to think that God listened and said no, than to think that nobody’s out there.”

Like most, I tend to say more prayers in my hour of need than in my moments of bliss. I should be singing praises of thanksgiving each and every day for the many blessings in my life. Instead, I have often found myself wondering just why God chose to ignore my requests – my pleas for that guy who would be so perfect for me if only he would wake up and realize it. I’ve found myself wondering why I’m lonely when everyone else seems to have found their perfect mates. I’m a fairly intelligent woman, yet this very simple and common sense truth dispensed by the rabbi Albert Lewis has taught me something far more important than dozens of college courses. God listened and said no.

When I was married, I asked God to turn my abusive husband into a loving man. He said no.

But when I asked to be delivered from the abuse, he said yes.

Years later, I asked God to help me move to another state to be closer to my boyfriend. He said no.

But when the same boyfriend dumped me, and I asked God to heal my heart, He said yes.

I think back to these two chapters of my life – and the final outcome of each. And I realize that the things I had asked for would have taken me down paths better left unexplored. When God said no, he spared me a lot of heartache.

God is now telling me no again. My first instinct is to disagree, to ask why, to plead with Him that this one thing will make me happy. After all, I’m a good person and I deserve happiness. But instead, I am choosing to back away. As difficult as it is, I am choosing to put my trust in Him, for He will say yes when the time and circumstances are right.

Thanks be to God!

A Stitch in Time…

chattiekat — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 17:52:04 +0000

I come from a very crafty family. My maternal grandmother cross stitched. My mother handcrafted dolls and stuffed animals. Fortunately, their do-it-yourself talents were passed down the family tree.

My grandmother taught me to cross stitch. She tried to teach all the girls in the family, but I’m the only one who took a real shine to it. The other kids each took to their own crafts – my sister to a variety of sewing and crafting projects, and my cousin to candle making. One of my brothers has been gifted with a talent for woodworking.

My grandmother battled cancer for the last few years of her life, and she died in 1993 at age 65. I think of her often with fond memories. I remember having Thanksgiving dinner at her house. I remember waking her up while playing Operation with my sister and cousin. I remember her sweet smile and the kindness she always displayed. But most of all, I remember the cross stitching. She always had a project in hand, and she always encouraged me to do the same.

“Mamaw” always told us the story of The Cross Room. Basically, the story goes that a man was struggling in life, so he told God that his cross was too heavy to bear. God then took the man to a room full of crosses and asked him to lay down his cross and choose another. Some were like towers. Others were smaller than a breadbox. The man walked around the gigantic room and then chose a tiny cross leaned up against a far wall. “That is the cross I want,” said the man. God replied, “My child, that is the one you just carried in.”

Mamaw loved that story, and she always talked of stitching it for a wall hanging. She never got around to it. Toward the end of her life, she went blind in her left eye due to a brain tumor. Tears well in my eyes as I think of how sad she was that her ability to cross stitch had been hindered.

After Mamaw’s death, my mom gave me all of her cross stitch books and materials. I added them to the big box of my own. I am ashamed to say that I hadn’t opened that box in several years until a few nights ago. As I sorted through my many half-finished projects, I found an old newspaper clipping of “The Cross Room”. I found graph paper with half-finished patterns for the story. I found several unsuccessful attempts to stitch the story.

My grandmother’s love of cross stitch now resides in me. It always has, even though I haven’t practiced regularly for a number of years. Cross stitch utilizes fine threads, allowing you to create beautifully detailed art. Even the smallest projects take a significant amount of time to complete, but the sense of accomplishment is great.

Last night I began working on a Christmas tree ornament. I thought my skills would be rusty, but I’m progressing quite nicely. I plan to do a few small projects to get back into the groove. Then I’m going to tackle the project my grandmother always dreamed of. I’m going to design and stitch a wall hanging of The Cross Room. I am going to hang it in my living room to serve as a constant reminder that there are others who are far less fortunate than I. And I am going to honor my grandmother’s memory by bearing my cross just as she bore hers – with diligence and dignity.

Listen, God is Calling

chattiekat — Mon, 01 May 2006 01:43:00 +0000

I used to be very active in my church, but over the past few months, my faith has wavered. My church attendance has been poor. My prayers have been few. I’ve sinned – not so much in my actions, but in my inactions.

I should have gone to church. I should have said my prayers. I should have sang praises to God, for I have lots to be thankful for. Instead, I chose to feel sorry for myself. I chose to spend my lonely nights crying myself to sleep instead of praying for forgiveness and mercy. These past few months have been very difficult for me, but no one has been the wiser. I woke in the mornings, and I put on my mask – that happy, smiling mask that few have seen me without.

Don’t get me wrong – as I said, I have much to be thankful for. I have family and friends, pets, a home, a car, a good job. I am free to do as I please, and there are so many in this world who will never have that privilege. Over the past few months, however, my life has changed. I got a promotion at work that consumes so much of my time and energy. I now have to limit my social involvement with work friends, so as not to give the impression that I’m favoring certain employees. My brother Jake, who had been my best friend since my divorce seven years ago, recently got married and has a baby on the way. He no longer has time to hang out with me – to go to the gym, to watch movies, to talk about our love lives, or in my case, lack thereof. I’ve become even more distant with my sister – in large part because of this blog. So much has happened, in such a short amount of time, and I chose to focus on those things instead of on my faith.

Deep down, I always knew that turning a blind eye to my God was wrong. I felt guilty and ashamed for shutting Him out of my life. I tried to find my way back to the church. I received several cards, letters, and phone calls from other church members. Finally, something set me into motion. It was God Himself. There is a hymn called, “Listen, God is Calling” that we sang in church a few times. For the past two or three weeks, that song has been playing in my mind.

Listen, listen, God is calling
Through the Word inviting
Offering forgiveness, comfort, and joy.

That’s the only part of the song that I could remember, and it just kept repeating itself in my mind. I finally chose to listen.

I went to church this morning. I was a bit worried that the walls would come crashing in, but thankfully, they didn’t. What did happen, however, was just what my soul needed. When I walked into the church, a flood of people came running toward me. They hugged me. They said they had missed me and they had prayed for me. I fought back the tears. I knew that I was where I should have been all along.

After the service, I was again surrounded by those loving disciples of Jesus. And this time, I couldn’t fight back the tears. They flowed down my face, cleansing me of all the doubt that had built up in my heart, making room for all the love that was being poured in – the love that I will, in turn, share with my neighbors. My heart is full, and I lift it up to God.

A Great Read

chattiekat — Sun, 30 Jan 2005 04:05:00 +0000

I love to read; however, most of my reading these days is from textbooks for school. When I do have time for pleasure reading, I tend to read religious and/or inspirational books, nonfiction, and Harry Potter. It is very rare that I find a novel that is so captivating that I cannot put it down. I have found one, folks! It is called Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler. We are reading it for my church book discussion group. I started the book a couple of nights ago, and I was instantly hooked. Here’s the description from the back cover:

“In 1965, the happy Bedloe family is living an ideal apple-pie existence in Baltimore. Then, in the blink of an eye, a single tragic event occurs that will transform their lives forever – particularly that of seventeen-year-old Ian Bedloe, the youngest son, who blames himself for the sudden ‘accidental’ death of his older brother.

Depressed and depleted, Ian is almost crushed under the weight of an unbearable, secret guilt. Then one crisp January evening, he catches sight of a window with glowing yellow neon, the CHURCH OF THE SECOND CHANCE. He enters and soon discovers that forgiveness must be earned, through a bit of sacrifice and a lot of love…”

I haven’t gotten very far into the book, but I am extremely impressed so far. I have never read anything by Tyler before, but if all her works are as good as this one has started off to be, I will definitely read more.

Peace~Love~Luther

chattiekat — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 20:50:00 +0000

As some of you may know, I organized a Movie Night at my church recently. We watched Luther, which was very fitting since we are Lutherans. Great movie! We had pizza and desserts, and we played Martin Luther trivia. I had a blast. Anyway, I just got an email from my pastor, and he has asked me to take on a “movie ministry” of sorts – planning a Movie Night for each month. Of course I said yes, and I am quite excited about it. Some of the movies I am considering for future Movie Nights are The Gospel of John, The Passion of the Christ, and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Also, I’d like to say that my church is the best in the world. I have been attending Gloria Dei for nearly two years now, and I have never felt so much at home as I do there. If any of you are looking for a church home, you are very welcome to join me one Sunday! We will also have Wednesday night services during Lent. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the Lenten services due to school obligations, but I recommend them for any of you who have no prior obligations on Wednesday nights.

Here’s to a Great New Year!

chattiekat — Mon, 03 Jan 2005 03:55:00 +0000

I have pondered the events of my personal life in years past, and I have compiled a list of resolutions for 2005. I am constantly striving to be a better person, and I believe that these actions will help me to become the person I wish to be.

1. I will continue to give to charity and volunteer my time with Serenity Shelter; however, I will no longer give more than I receive when it comes to personal relationships. In the past, doing so has made me susceptible to those looking for someone to take advantage of.

2. I will dissolve all communication with G. For those of you who are not familiar with the name, G is the guy who crapped on me and then broke my heart into a thousand pieces. I have never been anything but nice to him. He walked back into my life via email a couple of months back, and since that time, we have been exchanging emails regularly. He now has someone else in his life, and that hurts. I have moved on, and I don’t need a daily reminder of how I was used until someone better came along. Adios, G!

3. I will lose a few pounds. I am very self-conscious about my body, and I think I will feel better about myself once I shed a few pounds. I’m getting back to my weight training this week!

4. I will open myself up to true love. So true love, come and find me! Past events have made me hard-hearted. Relationships gone sour have made me hesitant to date again. This will be my year to really open up to the wonders of love.

5. I will improve my church attendance. For the past few weeks, my attendance hasn’t been what it should be, and as a consequence, my faith hasn’t been what it used to be. I’m going to get right with the Lord again!

I hope I have inspired some of you to make a few resolutions of your own. We should always strive to be the best that we can be. Good luck in your pursuits!

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

chattiekat — Mon, 06 Dec 2004 05:35:00 +0000

Did any of you watch the movie The Five People You Meet in Heaven? I had read the book by Mitch Albom already, so I had to see the movie. What a beautiful story! And the movie was every bit as beautiful as the book! This story really makes me think. Do you think Heaven is anything like Albom portrays it? Do you think that we will be taught lessons – the things we never learned in life – when we get there? Sometimes I think about dying, and I’m so scared about that moment arriving. Will it be painful? Will everything I know come to an end? Will the world cease to exist? Will it be like a dream that I can’t wake up from? The unknown is always scary. When I read stories like The Five People You Meet in Heaven, though, I feel a peace come over me, and I actually look forward to making the journey to Heaven. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not quite ready to leave this world – but when my time comes, I will go with a feeling of excitement for what is to come, not with sadness for what I am leaving behind. I hope that all of you have that same faith that there is something wonderful waiting for us on the other side.