A week ago my friend Luly posted on Facebook the phrase "God is real" and I hit the famous "like" bottom. When I did that she challenged me to post a phrase about God in my Facebook page during the next seven days. I must confess that when I received the challenge my first thought was: "Oh no, now people are really going to think that I'm a fanatic. I write spiritual meditations, I go to Bible class, I go to mass on Sundays and occasionally on weekdays, I pray the rosary when I walk and when I drive long distances... All these things will categorize me as a fanatic in some people's minds so if they don't think so already, once they see me posting about God daily, they will definitely label me. But as soon as that thought entered my mind, it was rebuked by a new one: "So what? Who cares what people think of me?"
People are going to label us no matter what. Some people are fanatics about politics, sports, a certain actor, actress or singer... So I'm fanatic about God. And therefore, I have this need within me to share Him with others. I don't push Him down anyone's throats. Everyone has a choice to read my meditations or ignore them, to like my posts or skip them, to listen to me or walk away... It's the same choice I have when someone talks to me about politics. But that's the beauty of this free country we call home. We all have the option to speak our mind freely. And to my surprise during the seven days of my challenge, I didn't get a single negative comment and more than 40 Facebook followers liked my postings. I am sure not everyone accepted the challenge and I respect their decision because at the end of the day, we all have a choice, but I know that during this past week my news feed was filled with postings about God.
All that God asks of us is that we stand up for what we believe and that we make a difference. There are groups of persons that are so passionate about what they believe in that they are willing to give their life for their cause. They march, they protest and little by little they are changing the direction of our country because they are relentless in their mission. As Christians, we tend to be bland. Little by little we are losing all our rights. Prayer and the Bible have been removed from schools, the phrase "Merry Christmas" is criticized, there are movements trying to remove God from all the documents that have defined our nation for over 200 years, from the Declaration of Independence to the Pledge of Allegiance... And we read and hear about all of this and we don't do anything except forward emails to each other from the comfort of our homes.
We should also make a difference by lending a helping hand to the good causes that we believe in, whatever that is. I have a friend that this weekend is attending a convention in Orlando to help those with rheumatoid arthritis, I have another one that rescues mistreated and abandoned animals, I have another one that created a bereavement group at a children's hospital. My young cousin Carolina is running the New York marathon and raising money for kids in the process... And so many more that it would take me five meditations to mention them all. We all have a cause that is near and dear to our hearts for whatever reason, whether it is an illness that a loved one suffers or simply because we love animals and can't stand to see them suffer. So I challenge each and everyone of us to do something about it. We all have hidden talents, it's time to discover them.
On Monday I was given a new challenge. I was asked to chair a fundraising event for the Key Clubhouse, an organization that helps persons with serious mental illness. It took me a week to decide to accept the challenge because I felt unworthy to handle such a big project. If I thought posting about God seven days in a row was a huge challenge, this was a monster in comparison. Even after I accepted, my first thought was: "what have I gotten myself into?" But mental illness is close and dear to my heart and I know that something needs to be done in this country to change people's minds about the stigma and to find better resources for those that suffer from it. So I accept the challenge to make a difference, maybe not for the country but for my community because we have to start small. All big projects started small. Large organizations like the Susan G Komen Foundation and United Way began small simply because one person or a small group of persons decided to make a difference. May God and my friends help me as I move forward with this new challenge.
Let's make a difference.
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