Today’s reading to the letter of the Romans 14:7-9 by St. Paul was the focus of the homily by our pastor this morning. He talked about how damaging, lonely, and unfulfilling our lives can be if we think and live as if we are a self-made being; in other words, my focus is living my life doing what I want according to my own desires. This can lead to harming those around us as our concerns are on ourselves. At the same time, we are forgetting that we didn’t create ourselves, we didn’t will ourselves into existence. And we have no real control over how our life will ultimately finish. Similarly, when we are struggling, it can become all consuming. It can be too easy to forget that there are others in our lives who are also going through hard times. The reflection touched my heart and gave me pause to contemplate. I would do well to remember Paul’s words, “If we live, we live for the Lord. If we die, we die for the Lord. So then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” This is comforting and a reminder to be focused less on myself and more on others.

I Found God today in a reminder that I belong to Him.