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Empty Me

I recently received a letter from my mom, and something she said left me thinking:

"I forget we cannot store up the grace and love of God.  We have to gather it daily.  His peace flows freely to us, but we must seek it daily by prayer.  Our Lord had designed us to need him day by day even moment by moment."

We can't store up the grace and love of God.  Just like the manna in the desert for Moses and the Israelites, he will always give us what we need for each day.  We can be tempted to seek after extra and store it up in fear that it will fail to be there when we need it.  If we trust in His faithfulness, we never question, we never doubt whether His Love and Grace will be there.

The problem I often face is "Am I open to receiving all He is offering."  Do I fill up my time with God in prayer with my words, according to my plan, seeking control because there are some things I would rather avoid?  The Lord wants to come be with me and fill me with all that I need, but all those other things are in the way.  It's like pouring water into a cup filled with marbles.  The marbles take up so much room that the water barely has space to fit.

Amazingly, the God of the universe not only tolerates, but actually desires us, His creatures, to be with Him.  We are made to need Him.  God yearns to fill us with His Love and Grace, but we must first empty ourselves of all the other things that fill that space in our hearts.  We have to give Him all the worries, the pain, the joys, and everything else.  Then, in the stillness, in the silence, in the vulnerability, allow Him to fill us with His Love and Grace.
 - Sister Mary Francis, FSGM

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