Brief contemplation

Dad and I went to Holy Hour tonight. These silent hour-long retreats from the cares of the world are just what the doctor ordered. I highly recommend Holy Hours to anyone who needs a break. You don't know what you're missing if you choose not to go. It is so peaceful and serene. An hour seems like such a long time when you first begin, but as you get nearer to the end, you wonder where it all went.

All things considered, a Holy Hour is the best spent hour you can ever have. What better way than to spend an hour in prayer, contemplating the Lord? Seriously, you can bring anything you want to before the Lord in a Holy Hour. Are the kids driving you crazy? He'll teach you patience. Are co-workers cheesing you off? He'll teach you kindness and mildness. Is there a fellow student that is annoying, and all you want to do is tell him or her, "Get out of here, ya friggin' loser!"? He'll teach you charity. All you have to do is ask, and He will give it to you. But you must ask. If you don't ask, you'll never receive.

Ask, Seek, and Knock. One single Holy Hour can bring the beginning of so much grace. Never underestimate the power of God. No problem is too big, or too small, for Him. Our Lord loves each of us as His very Own, but no one wants to visit Him and tell Him that they love Him, too. As Christians, we must do so, if we wish to live up to the name.

In an age where "love" is viewed as a sissy thing, or worse, something temporary to be thrown away when it is not convenient, remember that God loves you. He loves you more than you could ever love Him. What He asks for in return is so very simple: love and obedience. Is it really that hard?

Love: what do you do for someone you love? If I could define love, I'd be a much better person. Unfortunately, not even the dictionary definition comes to mind. If I can't even define it like that, how am I expected to know what love is, really? I'm expected to, because I use the word, and I am a receiver of this thing. How do I know I'm a recipient? I exist.

Obedience: doing what is requested of you. This has so many complexities that it's impossible to cover them all. But when you put love with obedience, you get a love that gives without asking, a love that is self-sacrificing, a love that anticipates what the beloved needs and desires, and, without thinking twice, just does it.

This is horribly disjointed, but my brain has reached a hard stop in this train of thought, and I can't get it to keep going...

On our way back from Holy Hour, Dad and I stopped at Denny's and had a meal. I would have said that we had dinner, but we actually had breakfast. I love those restaurants that serve breakfast around the clock. Breakfast is such a great meal. Dad had pancakes with strawberry syrup, and I had a eggs, sausage, hash browns and pancakes with maple syrup. So yummy...

There wasn't actually a contest, but guess who won in the speed-eating race? ;)