Giving God The Glory

Since I retired about 21 months ago, I’ve been having a lot of fun.

One of the first things I did was join an exercise class for seniors. I love my classmates, and I have come to admire them for their energy and their spunk. They certainly aren’t going gently into that good night.

I turned off my alarm clock; and irony of ironies, I began rising earlier than ever. I started purging closets and drawers, and I spent time in my garden. I’m a cottage gardener, which means I try to keep the weeds shorter than my flowers. This summer, I succeeded!

When you have a career, your personal time is limited. I always slotted time for activities; 15 minutes for this, 20 minutes for that. I was task-oriented, and worked pretty quickly at things. Now, I’m post-retirement; and I’ve thrown all of that out the window.

If I want to weed a garden, read a book or watch something on Netflix, I do it – for as long as I want. I find myself taking longer to do things because I am slowing down when I do them.

It’s been wonderful!

A few nights ago when I couldn’t sleep, I started thinking about my calendar. I thought about how I had a lot of interesting things coming up with a lot of interesting people. Then it hit me.

How does any of this give glory to God?

Uh oh.

Not much, I admitted.

Not much.

And so I asked myself: how could I do that, give glory to God with my life?

Nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus gave us a new commandment. He told us to love one another as He has loved us.

St. Teresa of Calcutta showed us how. I have a beautiful coffee mug with her words imprinted on it: Do small things with great love. She reminds us that we don’t have to travel to faraway placed to give God glory. We just have to extend a smile to the next person we meet.

When I worked at the Catholic Center, I was given a small silver frame with this written inside: Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.

I believe that these words from St. Teresa of Calcutta can be lights on our path, showing us a better way to live.

And that night when I couldn’t sleep? I realized the uncomfortable truth that there are certain people I really don’t want to pray for. I discovered that I really don’t want heaven to pour down blessings on them.

Nearly 20 years ago, a close friend told me about her husband’s boss, who was treating him in a very unkind and disrespectful way. Then she told me that she was going to start to pray for him.

I think that’s what we are called to do.

I think that’s the start of it. Praying for those we don’t like or love. Perhaps that’s the first step toward giving glory to God.