Channels of Grace

A father returns home after an exhausting day at the office. He is tired and just not in the mood. Period. He opens the door of his house and a chuckle sounds from the other side of the door and then... "Dad...dy...!!" A little toddler emerges from her little hideout behind the door and reaches out for daddy, almost missing a step. Immediately, the father is energised. He gives in to the warm welcome of this innocent child. He smiles, drops his bag, hugs his wife and picks up his little girl and starts swinging her up and down. 

In that moment, the realness of his tiredness and moodiness fades into a complete nonexistence. Suddenly, all his worries and stresses from work lose their hold of him, and he is totally uplifted again. From feeling desolated to consoled. And the evening went by. What would have otherwise been another inevitable miserable and gloomy night was transformed into one which was joyful, hopeful and heart-warming.

Have you ever had one of those days too which later unfolded into a totally contrasting experience? 

What are the things, who are the people who weigh you down, that cause that depressing blockage within you that prevents the river of life from springing forth from your heart?

Who are the people, what are the things which, in that encountering with, lift you up, put back that smile on your face, energise you, and leave you with a calm? 

What causes your daily ups and downs?

Our consolations are channels for God's graces; the source of strength we need to see us through our down moments, and far more than just seeing us through, they lift us out of those dreadful moments. It may be a child's chuckle, a gentle, cool breeze blowing upon our faces, a beautiful sunset, a favourite song, a friend's firm and gentle grip of our hands, a friend's presence, an afternoon of coffee and cakes with colleagues or just simply a good movie. 

Just as there are specific things and people who seem to always set us in desolation, so too are there those that move us into consolation. Sheila Linn in Sleeping with Bread wrote that we need to do more of the things that give us life. Amidst the many things we do everyday, we need to deliberately choose to dedicate more time to the things that are life-giving for it is from these that we can draw strength and energy.

However, before we can make discerned choices everyday and in every waking moment, we need first to arrive at a deeper awareness of who we are as a unique person with different consolations and desolations, allowing these inner movements (the consolations and desolations) to enter into our consciousness and speak God's Will to us. 

So... What caused your up moments and down moments today?