To Be A Saint

Recently, while shopping, I found a mother/daughter journal filled with writing prompts to facilitate communication (for those interested, the journal we found is called just between us by Meredith & Sofie Jacobs). As my adolescent daughter gets older, it seems that life gets increasingly hectic and the issues are more complex. To be honest, so is effective communication. She instantly loved the idea though and it is quickly becoming a means to lighten the mood when needed and to help us to really enjoy each other even in the midst of the daily ups and downs. The prompts have me rolling in laughter sometimes as I play with the ideas.

Favorite Guilty Pleasure: Staying in pajamas all day, complete with no makeup and hair that could rival the bride of Frankenstein

Favorite word: Chihuahua (seriously...try this one out!)

A trend I love to hate: Man-buns. ‘Nuff said.

The one prompt that really got my attention though was, “something I’d do if I knew I’d never fail.” At first I filled the space with “write a book, be a public speaker, be a professional musician.” Those of you who really know me know that I am infinitely more comfortable with writing about my feelings and inner world over speaking any day of the week.

In all honesty though, the answer would be something more like the following. I’d tell people I love them more and what they mean to me without feeling the overwhelming urge to bolt from the conversation. Furthermore, I’d look them in the eye while doing so. I’d do a better job of letting the childlike, exuberant person within come out to play more. The “me” who I let get buried for too long under a never-ending pile of dishes, bills and internalizing too many unsolicited opinions.

In a word, if I there is one thing “I’d do if I knew I’d never fail,” I’d be a Saint. We’re all called to be saints in God’s kingdom, but I don’t want to get there “just barely.” I want to live my life in the fullest way possible, deeply in love with and completely abandoned to the will of God in any given moment. Ironically, it seems that in some cases, the saints were people that failed a lot but kept getting back up anyway and I find this really inspiring given all the ways I fall short of my dream in any given day.

Maybe you’re thinking my dream sounds really arrogant, but I think not. To be a Saint is to become and live as the unique person God created us to be, to live in truth. It is to allow Jesus to remove anything within that mars the image of the God in which we were created. Saint Catherine of Sienna once said, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” I think if we’re aiming for less, maybe we should take a little closer look at our commitment to Christ and to ourselves and seek what may be in the way of a deeper union with Him. And we all have stuff.