Not on Track... Says Who?

At times I feel as though I can’t keep up with the world. I’m not set in my career, I don’t have a place of my own, and my parents are definitely not getting the grand children they had hoped for by this time. I’m glad that I got to know Elizabeth better in reflecting on today’s Gospel. A righteous woman who followed God’s commands and yet still was disgraced before others because of her inability to bear a child. Until later in her older age, when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and said she would be the mother of a son. In God’s perfect plan and His perfect time, Elizabeth’s prayers were answered and John the Baptist, who would be one of the greatest followers of Christ and leaders for Him, was born. 

Last week I got a text from my roommate: our house got broken into, your room’s a mess, but we’ll clean it up together. On my drive home from work, I talked with God about it. Though there was an initial eerie feeling that my space and stuff were invaded, I was glad that everyone was safe, and though some things had sentiment, they were all just things. I came in, found the gifts that I had wrapped opened, my drawers overturned, even my bed all lopsided from being thrown aside. I was actually okay with it, and with the robbers. While cleaning up, I realized how much I’ve grown in my decision a few years back to live simply and detach from things.   

How wonderful would it be to be able to detach from my set plans and the expectations of the world for success, marriage, and a perfect life for all to see. I get worried and tense when I don’t know my goals or can’t see a direct path to them. Elizabeth reminds me that when our relationship with God is right, and if we loosen the grip that we have on our plans, the process is full and rich and the goal comes along the way. Let’s not miss it because we were looking for something else.  

God of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, thank You for SO many things that are not wrong. May we make way for your plans, to live Your will for us, a life fulfilled with freedom and joy. 

reflected by Chau Nguyen