Reflections...

Sometimes it's a good idea to reflect on our lives.  There have been many times in my own life when I felt something was missing.  It was as if there was an emptiness or a void in my heart that I needed to fill.   Although I was working full time, I  often signed up for volunteer work with agencies such as the Juvenile Diabetes Association, Special Olympics, a Junior Achievement Program, United Way and the American Cancer Society.  I became very active and often took on leadership roles.  I loved being able to contribute my time and myself to all of these.  I loved working with the kids, planning the walk-a-thons and participating in them, but I still felt as if I was missing something.  No matter how many organizations I volunteered for, I still felt a void.  As I continued to search out activities and organizations, I also continued to attend church and pray for the answer.  After much reflection, I realized that although my volunteer work was very helpful to each of the groups I worked with and helped me to feel happy I was able to give back, I knew that simply participating in more and more volunteer work was not filling the void.  I began to realize the emptiness and void I felt was spiritual. It was as if I was missing something in my faith.  Now I need to tell you that I was raised in a very strong Christian (Catholic) family.  I attended church every Sunday and made sure I said my prayers every day, but that didn't seem to be enough.  I struggled with this for almost 20 years before I figured it out.  During those 20 years my life changed quite a bit.  My marriage ended in divorce, a dear, sweet sister-in-law and both my parents died within 2 years of each other and I changed careers.  My sister-in-law and my mother both died in tragic accidents and my father died of a heart attack.

At this point you are probably asking, what was I seeking that I hadn't been able to find for so long?   It was finding friends who shared my belief in our Lord and felt as strongly about their faith as I did.  Friends who not only studied and could discuss the Bible, but who also lived their lives according to God's word.  Once I was able to share what was in my heart, exchange books and quote scripture with them, I found the void was gone.  It was similar to many things in this life, I didn't know what I was seeking until I found it.  It wasn't finding Jesus, because He had always been there for me, it was finding others to share Him with.

"...that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened, that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by one another's faith, yours and mine."

        ~Romans 1; 11-12