God's love never quits, never gets tired, never gives up. God is love and is pouring God's self on us all the time. It is easy to feel God's blessings when all is going well with our lives. Yet many people miss the blessings of God's love in their lives simply through inattention. Some people are just unobservant, like a friend I see a couple of times a week who just noticed I shaved off my beard two months ago. Life is passing people by and they don't even notice. Others miss the truth of what is going on around them because of perceptual blindness. They believe they are the creator and sustainer of their wonderful life and thus are blind to any exterior support. They miss out on the fact that God rejoices with them in times of joy and success. God, who is love, helped create that positive result in your life and finds joy in watching you enjoy your gift. Awareness of this God-joy enhances the experience for both of us.
When things go bad in our life, or at least from our perceptual bias, this is normally when we miss God. We call out for help. We ignored guidance that may have prevented our perceived downfall and yet call out with all our might when the inevitable occurs. We may have had little to do with our bad moment but instead be experiencing the ripple effect of the free will of others. Perhaps we simply stumbled into one of the random pitfalls of life. I have no doubt that if we had allowed ourselves to be guided by God, many of these disastrous experiences could have been avoided, but probably not all.
When things are hard, we have a tendency to think God has either done this to us or allowed it to happen in order to test us or punish us or discipline us or to force guidance upon us. God does not force God's self upon us, for God believes in free will -- God created it. God's love never quits, never ends. God does not do bad things to us to test us or guide us; that is not love. God does at times allow us to reap the consequences of our own actions. God, in untiring love, is there with us in the midst of even the worst situations. God, in love, does try to help us make the most out of a bad situation. Sometimes a bad situation opens the door for a new direction in our lives. However, God did not create the bad situation. It is difficult to see and feel God when things are bad, but God is there loving us continually. It is often easier to see when we look back on our life than it is in the midst of the experience. Allow God to pick you up. Allow God to embrace you. Allow yourself to experience God's love even in the midst of hard times, and you will find the times more bearable and shorter in duration, even if just in your perception.
In good times and bad times God is always with us. When we are happy God rejoices with us; when we are sad God commiserates with us. God's love is empathic. God's love never tires or quits. It never goes away, even for a little while. We are never separated from God's love. Watch for it, be aware, and be surprised! www.fcccarrollton.org
