Another Way

I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk, give you counsel with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8
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Happy New Year!  It’s the season of new stuff!  New calendars, new snow, new ideas, new practices and hopefully NEW HOPE!  I love the feeling of a fresh beginning and an opportunity to move forward whether that’s in our faith life, our health or our habits.  The key for me is to be reasonable and logical.  The smart behavior folks will tell us to take small steps that are measurable and attainable…but I usually don’t listen to them and wind up creating a maze of steps and processes that are ineffective and exhausting…maybe that’s just me!
As I was sitting in Mass thinking about where the Lord might be directing my focus, I listened to a reading I’ve heard dozens of times and heard something in a completely new way.  The reading was about the Wise Men but the words “they were warned in a dream to return another way”.  The words “another way” just kept playing on repeat in my mind.  It’s funny because when I thought about all the “things” I thought I needed to do as 2026 began I realized I was essentially making the same list as I have for decades!  The list was based on me trying to solve problems…problems that matter to me, not necessarily to God.  I’m not sure if God will love me more if I loose twenty pounds, I’m not sure God will love me more if I actually get the Rosary said every single day without fail and I’m not sure God will love me more if I actually get in 10,000 steps every day.  Those and a dozen other silly things are what clog up my January every year so the words “another way” were delightful. 
I’m not sure what “another way” looks like?  It seems refreshing but at the same time it’s a little scary because it might be something really hard or something I fail at in splashing style!  What if another way requires me to give up something I don’t want to let go of?  What if another way looks nothing like the plans I have mapped out?  As I let all this run through my mind, feeling that I was behind because it was past New Year's Day, I came across these words from St. Faustina, A humble soul does not trust itself, but places all its confidence in God.  Perfect words at the perfect time.  The first thing I need to find another way to work on is humility and the second is trust in the Father.  As I tossed my plans in the recycle bin, I felt a wave of peace and I’m getting more and more excited to see what returning to the Father another way looks like.  I have watched him move mountains and organize situations I thought were impossible in just the first few days of January so I can’t wait to see what he has in store.  The best part…I just have to show up, follow along and ask him again and again to point the way.
 
A Seed To Plant: Prayerfully ask the Father if he might be trying to show you another way.

Blessings on your day!