The Struggle of Transition

Two weeks ago, after 24 years of being a PC user, my dad purchased a MacBook for me. And this decision did not come with little thought. For a year, I was heckled by some of my best friends to get a Mac. As they began to describe to me the benefits of the Mac, the things I could do with design, the ways it could enhance the things I do in ministry, I found myself desiring to have one. But as I thought about this transition, a few questions came to my mind. Is having a Mac really necessary? Is it really as good as they say? Will I be able to use it? Is it going to take a long time to change over? And I've found that yes, it is pretty awesome and yes, I am going to be able to do so much more with it. But I've also found that making the transition isn't as easy as I thought. The machines are much different and the transition is going to require assistance and perseverance.

I think that this situation is similar to our relationship with God, regardless of the depth of our faith. We become accustomed to our faith being a certain way. We become complacent and seek for our relationship with the Lord to be easy and non-demanding. Our faith becomes routine and our prayer becomes more like a check-list than a daily surrender to the will of the Father. And we respond to the Lord half-heartedly, giving him a little bit of ourselves, but still seeking to call the shots in our lives and live as we wish.

The transition is difficult. There is a vast difference between calling God 'Lord' and letting him be Lord of our lives. There is a big difference between simply going to Mass and letting the grace received in the Eucharist mold our lives. There is a huge distinction between giving God one hour a week and giving him control of the entirety of our lives. The transition to abandonment requires assistance and perseverance.

And as we look at our relationship with the Lord and question whether or not to make this transition to a deeper level of faith, some critical questions often come to mind. Is having a relationship with him really necessary? Is it really as good as it is described? Will I be able to be faithful? Will I have to change drastically?

But I think that if we answer these questions prayerfully, we come to the answers that lead us to a change of heart. YES, a relationship with him is not only necessary, but is the desire of our soul. NO, a relationship with him is not as good as it is described. It's better--and more satisfying, more life-giving, more peace-providing. Will we be faithful? Sometimes. But most of the time, HE will be the one being faithful and will be giving us the grace to respond in the same way. And will we have to change drastically? Probably. The word holy means "set apart" and "distinct" and only through change, refinement, purification, and the infusing of the virtues will the Lord be able to make us set apart and distinct.

So today, let us pray for the grace to look at our faith lives with greater clarity and see the ways we have allowed complacency to become rampant. Let us, with hearts abandoned to the Lord, ask him to show us the ways that he desires change. And may we be open and ready to respond when he speaks to us his yearning for us to transition to greater faithfulness. Come Lord, Jesus, be all to us.