There Is Sweetness in Bitterness

Life is a beautiful thing. I must admit that sometimes I don't pay as close attention to things as I should and allow myself to get distracted, but I am often brought back to the reality that God calls us to serve and love our fellow man. In seeing death once again, I am reminded of life, not only the life that is bestowed upon us by God in His infinite mercy, but also the life that is maintained by the love that we give to one another. It is sometimes in the deepest suffering that we truly see the love of man manifest and present itself to lift us back up to light of God. It is in these moments of tender compassion that we see the beauty of life and the magnanimity of God, for we are never truly alone.

In my short time upon this earth, I have seen death and I have seen suffering, but in that I have seen some of the most beautiful acts of compassion. I have seen people care for others whom they don't even know just purely for sake of love. There is just something about the whole experience that I cannot seem to put into words, but it is like a radiant light which shine through the darkness of pain and in it is a tranquility that can't be described. It seems to last for a moment, but for me the acts that I have beheld last for a lifetime.

I guess there is something very sweet in the bitterness of suffering. I do often think back to my childhood and I did suffer great abuse, but even in that I learned valuable lessons about love and compassion and caring for my neighbor, and it is because of these experiences that I have been able to understand a great number of people in their troubles, and have been able to help them to find that light at the end of the tunnel. The fact of the matter is that nothing in life happens without a reason, but it is up to us to see it in the light of God and not bitterness of our own prideful desires. We must always remember to thank the Lord not only for what He gives us, but also for what He takes away. His ways are far above ours, but He is always will guide us if we ask.

As for the most recent death experienced, I have watched a family pull together in prayer and deed, strengthened and empowered by God, trusting in His infinite mercy, and it has once again been a sobering reminder to me to of scarcity of time that we have on earth and how every opportunity should be used to serve God and love our fellow man to best of our abilities.

Two paragraphs from Pope Clement XI's "A Universal Prayer For All Things Necessary To Salvation" says my thoughts on this perfectly:

Assist me, that I may continually labour to overcome nature, to correspond with Thy grace, to keep Thy commandments, and to work out my salvation.

Discover to me, O my God, the nothingness of this world, the greatness of  heaven, the shortness of time, and length of eternity.

If we continually strive to keep God's commandments and harden not our hearts to His grace, the tumults we face shall always lead us to a deeper understanding of Him and of love, and those things which will distract us from our purposeful existence will cease to exist in our personal world, but even if we have been distracted or taken a wrong turn in life, God is always calling us and welcoming us back. Yet, we shouldn't wait until we feel all is lost to walk back into His loving embrace, as we never know when our time may come. We should never presume on tomorrow, so plan on today and count on the love of His Sacred Heart and His infinite mercy.

Pax tecum.