Eating It Up

This post has been a brewin' awhile in my head...so fingers crossed it is up to par!

Anyways...I recognize in myself that I sometimes become restless and frustrated.  I do not experience these feelings overwhelmingly (mostly because I am so incredibly blessed!), but they do come and often linger.  They may stem from something out of my control, or from the fact that I do not always have control.  My restlessness can come from worry, doubt, events, people, my own impatience, etc.  A wide range of things can cause this subtle, underlying frustration that can slowly push its way into my moods and interactions.

"Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee."

This is a quote from Confessions by St. Augustine and oh, is it profound! But, I guess they don't deem just ANYONE a Doctor of the Church, now do they? :)  This quote and the song (Restless by Audrey Assad) based off of this incredible tidbit of wisdom, continually speak to me and remind me what the root of my frustration is. That root is that I am not bringing it to the Lord. I am trying, and failing miserably to deal with it on my own.  I am forgetting that the restlessness cannot be soothed by anyone, anything, any place in this world that I may am mistakenly turning to.  In fact, this often only leads to more discontentment.  My heart will not be at rest once more until I surrender it to Jesus, who is literally dying to dispel consolation unto His beloved children.

"But he said to me, 'my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'"
2 Corinthians 12.9

When reflecting upon this passage, paired with Matt Maher's song, Your Grace Is Enough (inspired by this Scripture passage) I realized that I frequently forget this crucial article of faith.  God's grace is enough for me.  It is enough to get me through the day.  It is enough to bring me consolation.  I just need to open the floodgates of grace and let it pour in.  Grace, God's gift for us, has the power to do incredible things, even if it is merely alleviating my restlessness.  One day when talking to a friend, she brought to my attention that so often people will say, "It's going to be okay," when in actuality...it is okay.  God is providing for me always.  God's grace is sufficient to get me through the day, the week, this life.  I do not need to waste one ounce of worry on such things, which in turn cleanses me from the discontentment clouding my soul and preventing me from a closer relationship with God.

"Give us this day our daily bread"

God provides exactly what I need every day and that is why it is okay, and it's not just 'going to be okay.' The Lord gives me daily bread.  Lately, when I pray this line in the Our Father, it is a reminder to me that I find satisfying rest in God and that His grace is enough for me.  God grants us grace in the form of bread, a simple yet necessary staple.  God may not be gifting me with 'daily steak' because mostly that is not what I need. The Lord Jesus comes to us in the humble form of bread in the Holy Eucharist, which is exactly what I need.  God knows me to my core and cares about me as His daughter.  As much as I long for rest, God desires to give me rest more than I can imagine.  It is in this, I find immense comfort.  So as this new year is taking flight...

here's to eating up the daily bread.
cheers.

AL.