PAIN & NOSTALGIA

It's funny how one, casual event can provide a little lift to the soul and redirect it's attention to where it ought to be.

Two things seem true for everyone I meet these days: first that we're all suffering in some way and have been suffering for some time. Second, that we're all a little nostalgic for days past--maybe for easier days, maybe just nostalgic for normalcy in our day-to-day lives again.

This past Sunday provided relief at the end of a trying week by being very much like a day from the past. We had a well-attended High Mass followed by pizza at our house with the same friends we used to regularly have over on the weekends. It was simple, but my heart was thoroughly warmed by it because it was the sort of event that happened all the time months ago.

My initial reaction was: "This was so good. I have to do this more often." 

But I think a better reaction is: "I'm so grateful that this happened" and to leave it at that.

As nostalgic as I may be, and as much as I cling to those memories when things are difficult, the reality is that life is different now. Both Nick & I -- as well as all of our friends -- have different lives now than we did before. We can't just go back to the way things were...not in our personal lives and not in the broader scope of things either. Yet our goal should still be the same: to grow in holiness, grow closer to our God, and ultimately, to achieve Heaven.

If our primary goal were to avoid suffering and mitigate sorrow, than it would be of supreme importance that we do everything in our power to get life back to the way it was...back to a simpler time, a happier time. But that isn't our goal. Our goal is to know, love, and serve God in this life and to be happy with Him forever in the next. A goal which was achievable when life was a little easier, and a goal which is still just as achievable now that life is more difficult, stressful, lonely, or painful. 

We have everything we need in the present moment to achieve our greatest goal and fulfill God's desire for us. What is there to do then, but to accept what we have been given? This is the crux of Fr. Jean Pierre de Caussade's message in Abandonment to Divine Providence -- a long-withstanding favorite of mine and our current evening read. Caussade writes:

"There is not a moment in which God does not present Himself under the cover of some pain to be endured, of some consolation to be enjoyed, or some duty to be preformed. All that takes place within us, around us, or through us, contains and conceals His divine action."

God is always with us, always providing everything necessary to be nearer to Him. We should respond with open hands to receive what He has to offer and with tongues that sing his praises regardless of if it is something easy or difficult to endure. Holiness is achievable and He's giving us everything we need right now.

Do I have anything against nostalgia? Of course not. God's movement was present then too, so our attitude should be of thanksgiving when we remember what has passed. Yet, we shouldn't despair that those those times are gone, nor cling needlessly to the way things were. Reminders of who we've been and where we've come from, reunions, and blasts-from-the-pasts are all fine and dandy. But let's always remember that our ultimate goal wasn't only achievable "back then," but is just as achievable in our present state. So let's look with gratitude on the past, and accept with thanksgiving what is before us now. He is giving us everything that we need.

MK