Month: March 2020

How Influenza Gave Insight to Life

/ chicoinematt / 2 Comments

Influenza meme

Some days you won’t get anything done. You can focus on the negative. It’s incredibly easy especially when the flu is involved. Kids’ fevers at 104°. Fear of hydration. You forget how precious water truly is. Drink up. Wash your hands. Work. Work. More work. A seemingly never-ending battle with influenza.

How can I think of work when an invisible enemy attacks so suddenly and without remorse. That is the hardest part of all. No one to blame.

But would assigning blame soothe the pain? No—push the negative thoughts out. This virus is infecting, not my body, but my soul.

All things do end up leading to the good. Pain when embraced openly and in service to others leads to a bigger heart.

So if you are experiencing anguish this Friday, I pray you look inward. Inward to yourself and beyond. To the inner Spirit from above. Serve others. Serve them well. You and I will make it through this struggle. Maybe telling your story is all you can do. It certainly seems to be today so true.

How is your Friday going? How do you manage work and family obligations when sicknesses are involved?

Related Links

9 Tips to Ease Flu Symptoms

Thank you for sharing!

4 Reasons to Never Worry—Trust God Will Provide

/ chicoinematt / 1 Comment

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on May 15, 2017.

Throughout the Bible the phrase “Do not be afraid” is invoked over 300 times. In fact, the first mention of fear in the Bible is in reference to Adam and Eve hiding for fear of disobeying God for eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Fear, worry, and anxiety are feelings that are at the center of the human condition. The reality of sin—otherwise known as the separation from God—is the number one cause for humanity to fear and worry.

Faith not fear

As a broken and fallen man, I struggle with worry constantly both in large and trivial matters. Changes at my workplace leads to anxiety on my part and past suffering such as the loss of my unborn child are a couple of the various things I worry about. Even this morning, I got anxious about what topic I should write about today.

Oddly almost immediately after my worrisome thoughts are lacking a subject to write about, my eyes noticed a bible verse I have posted on my cubicle wall. Matthew 6:25-34. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit granted me the gift of knowledge and understanding and shed light on my situation. I thought, “Matt why don’t you write about the subject of worry and God’s answer?!” Here I provide four reasons why Matthew 6:25-34 is the most relatable bible passage for me personally.

sparrows

My personal anxiety

For most of my life I have struggled with anxiety and stress. It got so bad in high school that I went to see a counselor for a couple of years. I got it under control better in college but a couple years ago anxiety struck again—after losing my job, suffering a miscarriage, and stresses of adjustment to a new house and city—and attacked me.

I have since been on the road to recovery in large part to the sacrament of marriage [my wife’s patience is awesome!] and a discipleship group at church has helped as well. A few weeks ago, I printed off Matthew 6:25-34 and posted on my cubicle wall to remind me that God is in charge. Jesus reminded me,

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? 27Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? (Matthew 6:25-27).”

My Children

When I lost my job I seriously begin to doubt the providence of God and I worried about the very thing Jesus tells us not to worry about above—feeding my children. God provided me with a job that is less stressful that my previous job and allows for excellent flexible options for me to take time off in case my children get sick.

Why was I anxious about food and paying the bills?

Failure to trust and fear caused by sin. Once again the sacramental graces God poured out to me through my marriage helped me out!

Timeless Message

Do not worry

Several passages in the bible sound anachronistic—out of place and outdated. Not so for Matthew 6:24-35. Jesus’ words relayed by the evangelist contain a message that will never age!

Finding adequate shelter, food, and clothing will always be relevant for the human race despite the leaps and bounds we have made technologically. That is the genius of the Gospel to stay relevant across centuries and centuries!

Birds of a Feather

Living in the Midwest of the United States of America, I see tons of birds in my yard and throughout the city. Robins, crows, and sparrows. Some bible versions translate birds as sparrows. Whether this is the most literal translation is debatable; however, I associate with this passage even more when the word “sparrows” are used. Jesus says,

“Look at the birds [sparrows] in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? 27Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? (Matthew 6:26-27).”

I notice animals around my neighbor on a daily basis and they eat on a daily basis. God loves humans immensely more. Do not worry!

Each spring a sparrow tries to build its nest in our garage. Jesus’ words always come to mind in those I notice twigs and straw hanging from the rafters left by my aviary associate.

“Look at the birds [sparrows] in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?”

Yes…He does provide.

Related Links

3 Incredibly Simple Tools to Incapacitate Anxiety

7 Ways to Shield Yourself against Anxiety!

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May God give you strength to overcome fear and worry in your life.

Thank you for sharing!

Why You Need to be Better Not the Best

/ chicoinematt

🌐 Don’t focus on being the best. Focus on being better.

The world is filled with so many talented individuals.

🌐 You will always encounter someone better than you.

Someone more skilled. Or more successful.

😥 But comparison will never bring you joy—only heartache.

Instead focus on being a better version of yourself.

🔆 Better than yesterday.

I shifted my attitude away from being the best in my field or job and the following happened:

🎯 I experienced greater peace.

🎯 Met amazing people to collaborate with on writing projects.

🎯 Increased level of empathy— instead of seeing other people as competition I saw them as human.

🎯 Joy at sharing in others’ successes.

When you see people as people and as partners to build something better you find joy.

🎯 Increased motivation to learn. Shifting away from being the best didn’t lead me towards mediocrity.

I am still aiming to learn as much as I can daily.

Now I am willing AND excited to share my knowledge.

❓How have you learned to be a better version of yourself in 2020?

❓Do you think it’s better to focus on competition or collaboration?

Let me know in the comments 👇

Thank you for sharing!

Write Something Imperfect Today

/ chicoinematt

Write Now

 

 

💡It is better to write something imperfect than nothing at all. You may aim for perfection. Quality should a priority.

💡But if you constantly strive for perfection an unintended side effect is inaction. Seeking perfection can lead to a creativity clog.

💡A blocked mind makes it difficult to create content. The antidote?

💡Write something imperfect. You don’t have to publish it on your blog or social media channels. Save it in your notes or journal. The benefits of writing something unpublishable?

1️⃣ Helps remove the creativity clog—like a drain is blocked with crud, so too your mind needs crud removed to allow creativity to flow.

2️⃣ Builds consistency—write regularly. It’s like physical exercise. Writing something allows you to maintain a habit.

3️⃣ You have an opportunity to re-write your work later—the first draft is likely not going to be polished.

4️⃣ Develops humility—seeing my bad writing reminds me that I need to be humble and grateful that I am still a work in progress.

💭 How do you remove a “creativity clog”?

💭Do you ever write something that goes unpublished?

💭Why or why not?

Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Thank you for sharing!

The Curious Case for St. Thorlak’s Patron Sainthood

/ chicoinematt

St. Thorlak

As I have mentioned in previous posts, my oldest son was diagnosed with being on the autism spectrum a couple years ago.

This journey toward an answer to helping our son has been filled with both joys and struggles. One of the fruits of this process is my wife has discovered her calling as a special education teacher. Another benefit of her knowledge is that it helps my cousin who is experiencing similar trials as my son.

Recently, my mom was doing research on saints who assist with people on the autism spectrum. She came across St. Thorlak who is currently being considered as a patron saint for people with autism spectrum disorder.

Curious George

Born in 1133 A.D. Thorlak received the sacrament of Holy Orders at a young age. He was ordained a deacon at age 15 and became a priest when he was 18 years old! Eventually founding a monastery based on the rule of St. Augustine, Thorlak lived a monastic way of life for a several years. Thorlak was ordained a bishop of the Icelandic diocese of Skalholt. He continued to carry out the reforms instituted by Pope Gregory VII. St. Thorlak die in 1193 at the age of 60.

Relatively little information is known about Thorlak compared to other Catholic saints, such as Augustine, John Paul II, Teresa of Avila, Joan of Arc, etc. Despite this, my review of the website that is championing his cause for patron sainthood provides some insight as to how Thorlak could be a relieving guide in both my son’s life and our family in general.

autism speaks.jpg

Rigidity in manner

Being unbending in his moral expectations, St. Thorlak demonstrates a parallel to children with autism that commonly sees the world in terms of black/white dichotomy. My son for example, is a “rules kid” and will follow our household law to the letter.

Failure to Initiate or Reply to Social Interactions

According to the Mission of Saint Thorlak, the Icelandic saint said little during the discernment process for him to become bishop. St. Thorlak displayed reticence in social situations as well. Many times children with autism spectrum disorder are non-verbal when it comes to communication.

Ritualized routine

Although a lot of Catholic tradition relies on daily routine, St. Thorlak adhered to a strict routine of fasting and prayer—especially in his time of founding and living in the monastic community. Similarly, my son thrives on a strict and regular routine.

saint-thorlak.png

To be clear asking saints for help is not an easy solution to daily turmoil that medicine or therapy fails to soothe. Rather, I look to saints for guidance and relief for my personal trials or family strife. In regards to St. Thorlak, I believe based on the information I learned about his life that he would be a great role model for my son to look to when it comes to the challenges a child with autism faces on a daily basis. I found this concise prayer (below) helpful in calming me down. I printed off and taped it on my car dashboard to pray on my morning commute to work. I’m grateful for the witness of St. Thorlak and I hope his life gives insight, joy, and relief to individuals and families of those with autism spectrum disorder!

“Holy Thorlak,

Cut with the scythe of your workings

the thorns casting shadows

in my unclear mind!”

Related Links

Mission of St. Thorlak

St. Thorlak–EWTN

Living the Way of Saint Thorlak

Thank you for sharing!