Leaving the World Behind! Who's With Me?

One of the most stressful things for me is making decisions, especially expensive decisions! When we were preparing our Florida house to sell, it was recommended to us that we first do some major renovations. That was very stressful for me and probably the reason I put up with the ugly green laminate counter tops for so long. I found it very stressful to pick out the right counter tops and back splash to match! After all, what if we spent all that money and it didn't even look good! 

When we moved to Indiana, we didn't bring our mattress or family room furniture with us. That meant we had to purchase those items when we got here. Tom and I slept on air mattresses for about a week before we got around to shopping for a new mattress. By that time, we were feeling desperate as our backs were crying out for relief! We ended up purchasing a mattress at the first place we looked. Needless to say I had buyers remorse especially as we kept getting ads for mattress sales. I felt we paid too much and probably could have gotten a better deal. One of the times I was stressing over it, I brought it to prayer and heard the Lord say, "Leave the world behind!"

I am thinking of that word especially now during this election season. I think people's emotions and anxiety levels are running high!  The choice of presidential candidates is daunting. Many of us don't know what to do or who to vote for. I think this is a great time for us to leave the world behind! What exactly does that mean though? It doesn't mean that we become apathetic or complacent! Our conscience may or may not allow us to vote for a certain candidate, but then we leave our decision at the feet of Jesus, acknowledging that he is ultimately in control! Whatever happens in this world, he is in control! Leaving the world behind means we keep Christ as our center and we keep our eyes on him! Jesus should be our hope, our peace, our strength, our joy, our all in all! If we are truly free, integrated with Christ as our center, the storms of this world can swirl around us and we will be unmoved and unwavering!

The main rule of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity is also very fitting during this time!

The Rule of the brothers and sisters is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We should be troubled about nothing except this all-encompassing rule. All that matters is that one be created anew. - Galatians 6:14-15 (from the Rule, Constitution and Directory of the brothers and sisters of Charity)