It’s Time to Find Your Featherbed

A couple of months ago I logged-on to find the following e-mail appropriately shuffled into my high priority inbox:

“How you do keep your hope?  Obamacare is constitutional, Oreo cookie is now supporting “love”, HHS mandate…. I feel utter pain in my chest right now seeing the complete crumbling of our world.   How do you find hope to go on?”

At the time I too was feeling rather stressed with it all, so it was a good exercise for me to ground myself and answer that very question for my own sanity as well as my friends. My spiritual gut-check reminded me of several things that helped calm my conscience both then and now, on the eve of the 2012 Presidential Election.

First, Keep looking up…WAY up…. When I need to put things in perspective I look to the past and to the future (the eternal future). The state of our current world isn’t so good. But I think current events tend to seem worse to us then ever before because this is the time we’re physically living in.  It’s our present. But when you look to the past evil has always been attempting to run the show.

As Christians we know we are going to be attacked by evil and are called to suffer for our God Who is Love.  So, instead of making this fallen world your own and constantly looking out into it as if it’s all we have, look up. Look to the Eucharist. Look towards Christ on the cross.

Unite yourself to Him and the problems of this world aren’t as debilitating anymore. I think my biggest source of hope comes from knowing that we aren’t meant for this world. When this world gets overwhelming look towards heaven. That’s what we need to keep our eyes on right?  That’s where it’s at.

Second, find your feather-bed!  Living life as a practicing Catholic or Christian conservative is completely counter cultural.  Period.  So it makes total sense that when you express your faith and beliefs you will be met with a certain amount of resistance and possibly even hostility.  We live in a world where misunderstandings about counter cultural beliefs result in Catholic or Christian conservatives being automatically labeled as ignorant, stupid, intolerant, and…well they only get worse from here but you get the idea.

We are called to be a light in the world, to go out and share the good news, but don’t for a second underestimate the need to strengthen yourself for battle.  Make sure when you are out in the trenches (aka living your day-to-day life) that you know where to find that soft, supportive place to fall.  Especially in the plugged-in media saturated lives we often live, it’s easy to get lost in an electronic world that can seem very dark and hopeless at times.  Particularly during those times, do yourself a favor and take some time to refocus, strengthen, and recharge. Don’t let the internet consume you or your life.  Un-plug from the stresses and regroup.

What this looks like for each individual may be different.  Maybe it’s a movie with your spouse or dinner with a friend, bible study with your church group or a quiet walk in the evening hours. Whatever it is, know where to go and make the time to go there often.

I’m very blessed to have a strong circle of like-minded friends to lean on when the world starts wearing me down, however I’ve met many individuals who struggle to find this.  Everyone needs that safe space to fall.  If you don’t yet have yours, think a bit, find that feather-bed, and recharge those batteries. Strengthen yourself to go out into this fallen world and share the Good News with everyone you meet.  But whatever you do, and no matter how hard things may get, keep looking up…way up.