A Simpler Time...

I am fascinated with the Amish. I have been since I was an early teenager. My Mom always used to tell me I was born about a hundred years too late, because since early childhood I have been enthralled with the simplicity of a life without clutter-physical, emotional and spiritual. As a young girl, I adored Little House on the Prairie. I could not get enough of the books, show or movies.

I was probably twelve when I read my first Beverley Lewis Series, Summerhill Secrets, featuring an 'Englisher' living in the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. I was addicted. Now, nine years later, I still devour books about the Amish.

I am Roman Catholic. My parent's brought me up this way, and I have found everything to be absolute truth regarding Catholicism. I pray God will continue to bless me with my gift of faith. Nothing in the world could change my heart about being Catholic, so I am not saying I am heading to Pennsylvania to join the Amish or anything! Just that their way of life fascinates me.

I think we all, to some degree, crave simplicity in our lives. And, I think the Amish have hit the nail on the head in this department. Now, I am not saying I am heading out to get rid of every modern convenience, because many of them are great blessings in my life. But, I am talking about de-cluttering.

We are all guilty of over indulgence. In what we eat, in what we buy, in what we wear. I don't know about you, but I can be quite impulsive. Out picking up some things at Wal-Mart...cute shirt for $20 distracts me and somehow winds up on the counter as I check out. Sigh... I always feel guilty by the time I get home, thinking I did not need that shirt. Of course I didn't need the shirt. I have about 25 jammed into my dresser drawer already. Heaven knows I don't need this one!

I'll admit, my will power to walk away is fairly pathetic. The Amish do without things all the time. It's like constant Lent. Their will power to do this floors me! I so pray that I can be disciplined in the small things as they are in the big things.

Mark 10:25
'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.'

Because, at the end of the day, does it matter if we had all the money in the world or if we learned discipline and self sacrifice for the glory of God, and as penance on Earth to bring us closer to our ultimate goal- Heaven?

-Emily xo

Are Our Homes Poverty Stricken?

"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty."

-Blessed Mother Teresa

It always amazes me how this woman, who experienced darkness in her soul and dry spells of faith to unbelievable extremes, can still be so insightful! How true is it that we often shut those around us out. We make them feel unwanted, unloved and uncared for. This is a wonderful reminder, especially for this Lenten season, to seek out those in our own life who may be feeling this way, and make them feel like the princesses and princes God intended them to be.

I was talking to someone the other day, remarking on how I am such an introvert. I find people absolutely fascinating  but in the last few years I find myself becoming less outgoing in large groups. Not because I am uncomfortable necessarily, but because all I can think while I am there is, "I wish I was at home." The woman I was talking to was saying she was the same way, and that it was okay to be like that. We are just home bodies, and like our quiet, simple lives.

Later I got thinking about that, though. Yes, I prefer to be by myself or in small groups of one or two people most of the time, but that cannot define me. I realized how silly and selfish I am being! It's true! How pathetic is it that when I am in a group of people I begin to shut down and remove myself, emotionally and mentally, because I become totally focused on what I could be doing if I was home. I was reminded of Catherine Doherty (http://www.madonnahouse.org/publications/passiton/Pass-It-On-004.htm) and her Duty of the Moment. 

When I am in a group setting (assuming it is not clearly dangerous to the well-being of my soul), whether I want to be there or not is irrelevant. My duty in that moment is to make myself as present as I can possibly be, and to ask for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to seek out opportunity to make people feel loved, cared for and wanted. God has greater plans in that moment, and I need to be open and aware so that He can use me as His instrument to make His people feel worthy and treasured when they most need it. See, only He knows the hearts of those around us, and we could be the vessel God needs to reach their hearts. We just never know!

Now, there really isn't anything wrong with being more introverted. That is how God created me. But, He also created me to evangelize, always. And, He knew exactly who and when my personality would be used to touch another heart. I have to keep in mind that not everyone responds to extroverted personality types, and someone may be craving the one-on-one attention I can provide through God.

So, the moral of this story is that I need to quit being so self-absorbed! Haha! I hope that for the remainder of this Lent you can begin, just in your own home, to make everyone around you feel His love.

Many prayers,

Emily xo