By: Jean Severson
That busy time of year is upon us. It’s November already, we are eight months into a pandemic, we voted, kids are in school, we gained an hour (of what??) and the holidays are right around the corner. Sometimes the feeling of ‘there isn’t enough time’ beckons its beat into our already overloaded bodies and minds. There just isn’t enough time….
In February of this year, 2020, when the ‘old normal’ was familiar then, and is now just a memory of days gone by, one of the scripture readings I pondered that day was the Feeding of the 5000. I had read and heard that Gospel many times over the years, but this day was different. You know the story: crowds have been following Jesus, He is curing the sick, teaching them about the Kingdom of God and then He feeds them. He feeds them with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Jesus used a small amount, an amount that appeared insufficient and literally fed thousands. Everyone is full AND there are leftovers. Every little morsel was used or collected; nothing was left for waste.
While I was reflecting on this Gospel, the thought came to me, “Are there times that I dismiss things because I don’t think it’s ‘enough’ and I miss out?” Have I told myself I don’t have ‘enough’ time to pray? It doesn’t have to be an elaborate prayer; it can be a prayer of praise, thanksgiving, hello God, I’m just checking in, whatever, but make what I do a prayer! It only takes a second. Look around, be aware, pray. That’s all it takes, and I do not need much to do this. It does not have to be a whole rosary or any rote prayer. It can be a simple “thank you, Lord”, or stop and listen to the sounds around me ~ or the silence ~ and know that God is there. What have I missed out on?
Jean Severson
So, as I was reflecting on this, back in February, and listen, I hear Jesus say to me, in His gentle, loving way “Bring to me what YOU have, Jean, and it is enough.” Bring to me what you have, and it is enough! And the realization hits me that whatever I bring to Jesus IS enough. No pretenses, no show, just me and that is all He really wants, just genuine me. My joys, laughter, sorrows, gripes, worries, all of it. To be the woman God wants me to be, to bring to Him every day what I genuinely have, to give to Him, and to know it is enough.
So, nothing is insufficient to bring to God. Being with God is sufficient if it is genuine. He wants us and loves us as we are, His beloved children. What is missed by not doing this? His graces. It just takes offering ourselves to God in everything and be open and accept the graces He gives us. I will read and hear this Gospel in a ‘new normal’ from now on, knowing that I can be ‘enough’ when I bring to God what I have.