Small Success Thursday: Contentment

From the outside, nothing about the past week would seem different from any other week. We had the usual activities: work, school, college course I'm teaching, dentist appointments, trip to the mechanic, etc. Yet, there was something different about it. It's difficult to describe, but for the longest time, I felt like I was just flying through the various events of the day & fighting an uphill battle to survive all the frustrations that our tiny rental house brought with it. But, since we've moved & settled, I feel like there is so much less that I have to contend with. I actually feel & am enjoying (dare I say it?!) being content & present in the moment.

Now, I realize that life has a way of throwing things at you when you least expect it, so I'm going to enjoy the present moment while I have it. With that in mind, all of my successes this week involve

- I played with my kids. I realize this might not seem that momentous, but these are small successes after all! It had been a while since I actually got down on the floor & played. And we had so much fun!

- I spent some time adequately preparing for religious ed class, instead of waiting until the last minute to throw something together. It was a success! The kids enjoyed it, I enjoyed it. I have one student this year who has been particularly challenging to keep focused. I assigned my helper to sit with him during class to keep him focused, & it worked great. He even came up to me at the end of class & asked me to tell his mom the good news about his behavior!

- I was able to continue unpacking a few more boxes. The storage room with all the kids' clothes is organized & all the plastic containers have been appropriately marked. I reorganized our movies & posted an entertainment system cabinet for sale that we can't use. Feels like we're settling in! Now, I have to get to organizing my spaces (make-up table, closet, books).

- I love listening to TED & TEDx talks at work. They are extremely motivating, encouraging & exciting. I encourage you to check out the YouTube channel.

You can read more SST posts at Catholic Mom. One additional comment since today is the March for Life in DC. I can't believe it has been a decade since Jesse & I went to our first march together. The pro-life movement is so important to me as a mom, but also a human being. It is so important that we do whatever we can to keep being a voice for the voiceless!

Praying for our Enemies

I'm teaching third grade religious education this year.  Last year, I taught kindergarten, so having older elementary students, plus the preparations for First Communion, makes it a wonderful challenge.  Although I prepare for the day's class topic as best I can, I usually find some other topics coming up that I feel are important enough to dedicate an entire class session to.  One such topic came up two weeks ago...
We were discussing prayer, not just the various forms of prayer, but also the people we pray for.  I started asking, "How many of you pray for your parents?"  All hands went in the air.  "How many of you pray for your brothers & sisters?"  A few hands less than the first time, apparently sibling dislike seems to be in full-swing for these third graders!  After a few more questions, I decided to ask a more challenging one, "How many of you pray for people you don't like?"  ("People you don't like" seemed a bit too generic, so one boy with a love of all things superhero volunteered the word "enemies.")  With this question, almost no one raised their hand.  So, I asked them the logical next question, "Why not?"
Naturally, they had all the usual reasons: "They're mean."  "I don't like them."  "They don't like me."  I explained that although these things may be true, that was still no excuse not to pray for their enemies. After all, doesn't God love us all just the same?
I could tell this had gotten their attention, so I decided to explore the issue in further detail with them following week.  I started the next class by reviewing the subject & asking them if anyone had prayed for their enemies (only a few hands went up).  Then, I read them the story of Sidney & Norman.  It's the tale of two pigs who each get an invitation to visit God. Norman, the prideful pig, learns that God loves him (and not because of his goodness), but is sad that he judges other pigs. Sidney, the troublesome pig, learns that God loves him, even with all his imperfections.  At the end, the two pigs learn that God's love comes without any reservations.
The point for my third graders, and really for all of us, is that we should focus less on our supposed goodness or troubles & more on the infinite power of God's love. When we do that, we can see everyone as equally created in His loving & divine image.  Only then can we love, pray for & take care of each other in the way we are called to as disciples of Christ.