Sheri Wohlfert
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Talks & Topics
    • Discipleship & Evangelization
    • Women's Ministry
    • Catholic Schools
    • Catholic Hospitality Training
  • Events & Bookings
  • About
  • Contact

Joyful Words Blog

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path. 

– Psalm 119:105

Better Get Busy

8/20/2017

2 Comments

 
Before we can get busy and live, we first have to get busy and die.  Fr. Mike

I finally threw them away.! I had a pair of shoes in the garage that were older than the middle lovelies who will be taking a seat in my classroom next week.  I had a really hard time throwing them out for a few reasons.  First of all they were so completely comfortable and easy.  Secondly, I had worn the backs down so they just slipped on in a second and they were all stretched out and broken in so they formed perfectly to my feet. The last big reason it was hard to toss them out…besides my earrings, they are about the only thing I own from 1999 that still fits!  They sure weren’t pretty, they sure weren't the best I could get, they honestly  were all used up and were practically out of function but I still held on because it  was easy, I didn’t have to think about it or invest any effort into picking new ones or breaking them in…as bad as they were, it was just automatic!

I was at a funeral last week and Fr. Mike used the quote above early in his homily.  It got my attention for sure!  I’ve been mulling over his words for almost a week now and each day they tug my heart a little more.  When we think about living, we think about today and tomorrow and probably next week.  We think about our schedules and the upcoming events we’re looking forward to, like trips or celebrations.  We also think of events and trips  we aren’t looking forward to, like the dentist appointment or defrosting the freezer.  The truth is; none of that is the living Fr. Mike was talking about.  True living comes in the next life.  In eternal life we never  have an event that brings us anything but COMPLETE happiness and joy.  No stress, no deadlines, no organizing or planning and certainly no “get the yucky stuff done so I can get to the good stuff” thinking.  If we take our absolute best, most perfectly amazing day on earth and multiply it by a million, it won’t come anywhere close to the supremely awesome time we will spend in eternity with the Father.  That thought has me grinning from ear to ear as I sit here typing.  Making sure we experience the amazing life God has planned for us is where the “get busy and die” part comes in.

I was so busy hanging on to those nasty old shoes because it was habit, it was easy, it was convenient but I finally had to die to the shoes.  I had to make a decision to put them to rest and do something better.  When I actually did that, things were a little stiff and uncomfortable at first but now my feet are happy, and the performance of a pair of shoes that actually stay on my feet and keep the mud and yucky barn and yard  stuff off my feet when I run out to do chores is a big bonus.  Everything, including my toes, is fresher, cleaner and in much better order.  I’m perfectly aware that changing out my chore shoes is much different than changing out some of the habits, practices and attitudes that are mucking up my eternal life, but you can see where Fr. Mike’s homily led me.  If I don’t begin to die to self in the way I do my living, I’m risking my chance at truly living…with HIM…where living really matters!  I had to really look hard at my earthly living and recognize that this is nothing compared to what I’m really looking forward to.  Is it better to complain about things or people that are making my earthly living inconvenient or uncomfortable or is it better to recognize my selfishness and die a little to my selfish wants in order to put someone else first.  That homily and those old shoes caused me to ask myself a couple of serious question.  “If my life ended this day, what would I have to make an accounting for?”  “If I stood before the Father today, what parts of my living would I have to explain, defend or prove?”  “Are my judgmental thoughts, my overindulgences,  my stubborn pride and my determination to do things my way, things that help me get busy living?” I decided I need to ditch those things like my old shoes and get busy and die to those things and probably a whole list of others. Step one; Jesus, take my hand, I’m gonna need some help learning to die!

A Seed To Plant:  Make a list of all the things that are going to get in the way of truly living and ask God to help you devise a plan so you can get busy and die to the things that are in the way.​

Blessings on your day!
2 Comments
Ann
8/21/2017 09:33:16 am

Wow, Sheri - I know I've got some "old shoes" that need to be thrown out. I've known it for quite some time, but have avoided "cleaning the closet". Your post reminds me that it needs to be done.

Reply
Beth Rzepecki
8/22/2017 09:47:49 pm

This is so my mom. I need to tell you her stories. They would fit with this blog. First of all she thanked Jesus for giving her part of his cross to carry and just asked him to help give her the courage to carry it. Then she decided to look at her stage 4 lung cancer this way, She is going on a trip and she needs to pack her suitcase. In her suitcase she needs to put Jesus, going to Mass every day if possible. She needs to add all of her blessings, the prayers she says every day. She needs to put in the sorrows and pains that she has offered up for Jesus and the poor souls in purgatory. She just needs to fill her suitcase so when it is time for her to go on vacation, her suitcase is full enough to get her there. She is totally at peace with whatever Jesus has in store for her. She is such an example of what I want to be. She is so relying on her faith for everything. I love her analogy of the trip and suitcase. Please just keep her in your prayers.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Subscribe to Joyful Words Blog
    Subscribe

    Sheri's writing can also be found at Faith Catholic Publications and on CatholicMom.com
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

Email     [email protected]

Phone   989.640.6673

Subscribe to Joyful Words Blog

* indicates required
/* real people should not fill this in and expect good things - do not remove this or risk form bot signups */

Content is the intellectual property of Sheri Wohlfert
Created by Olivia K Design
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Talks & Topics
    • Discipleship & Evangelization
    • Women's Ministry
    • Catholic Schools
    • Catholic Hospitality Training
  • Events & Bookings
  • About
  • Contact