Through Christ..

For a long time in my life I really enjoyed making other people happy. I love my family and friends so much it was hard not to want to please them. I am grateful to God for allowing me to really enjoy all the special people in my life. I think about how my life could have been different. I could have been a young mother or a young bride and that all takes up time. Precious time to build a foundation of Trust and wait patiently for my time. I mean it wasn't easy to know I was usually the one always single. There were days I didn't appreciate being single. But for the most part I can say that I truly enjoyed it. I really got a chance to live that single life...so much that I moved to New York City so that I can finally try to please just one person--me-- for a change.

I felt the pull to New York for quite some time before I made the Leap of Faith. I am grateful to the Lord for guiding me every step of the way. It has been a true personal journey for me...one that is still beautifully unraveling itself. I feel so blessed-beyond words. I have been able to face so many fears through Christ. He has helped me cross many bridges in my life and not just the many bridges in New York City but the ones that you really do not see yourself on the other side. Through Christ I can Trust and Believe I can do everything I set my mind and heart to do.

Public Service

     The last couple of days went by so quickly...its amazing how time flies. I went to the library yesterday and a thought came to my mind. Ever since I learned how to read I have been fascinated with books. I remember when I was little my mom took me to the local library branch and I always went over the limit on books I took out. The librarian, Maria, used to tell me the only way she would let me go over the limit was if I read them all. You bet I went home and read all those books. I remember reading Arthur, Curious George, and even books in Spanish. My mom always made sure I preserved my Spanish. I am 28 years old living in another city and still visit the library at least once a week. I still end up taking more books out than I can read in three weeks! Life has gotten busier now...but I always make time to read.

I began to think even deeper about this and realized that another place I visited all my growing life was the Catholic Church. I went from being an altar server, to becoming a lector, to becoming a Sunday School teacher. I couldn't just sit there and listen to mass I wanted to be part of it.

Those are two public places I visited often in my life...the library and the Church. No wonder I am so passionate about public service. I now volunteer with the Mount Sinai SAVI program which requires me to visit the hospital emergency room once a month to advocate for survivors of violence. The hospital...another public place in the city.

I wonder what God has planned for me! Amazing things happen when you pray to the Lord :)

Love bears all things

I finished reading a book I took out of the library last week. It was called "Where do I go?" and the title makes more sense now that I read it. It was about a woman who had been married to her husband for 14 years and had two kids with him. They were very well off and because her husband was so successful she lost herself in helping him pursue his dreams. Then he turns around and steps all over her. Doesn't allow her to get a job, doesn't want his mother in law in their home, and ends up taking away her children. All the while putting her down and making her feel worthless. But there was a greater purpose for that struggle and the wife realized that while she had lost everything, she really was gaining it all. Through the struggle with her husband, she restored her Faith in God. It may seem that after she had lost everything she would have lost her faith but how many of us ignore God until we are at the tip of the iceberg ready to lose it all? Our trials make us run to the Lord. He is there waiting for us with open arms. He will carry us through the sand and help us cross those bridges we need to cross to be renewed again in Faith.

Its scary to know that we stray so far from the Lord that we become selfish and rude...we become envious and proud. Our hearts become so hardened that we don't care how much our words can destroy another persons life. We don't care to abandon the person we made a commitment to love forever...We do not honor the person we chose to spend the rest of our lives with...we get into this bubble of selfishness and forget that our significant other is a person who deserves to live their dreams as well...who deserve their partners love and support.

There is a scripture that Paul wrote to the Corinthians which we must all meditate on whenever we need to be reminded of what Love is.

"Love is patient, Love is kind; Love does not envy or boast; It is nor arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

1 Corinthians 13