I sat in my kitchen this morning watching the rain pour down the windows, and the more it rained, the more I thought about my homeless friends. "What are they doing on a day like today?" "Do they have to live in wet clothes until it finally stops raining?" "How unfair." "Why them?" Thoughts swirled through my mind, but I didn't want to think of them suffering while I sat in a warm, dry house. I picked up a book, and no sooner had I started reading it than I came across this "Don't be afraid. There must be a cross, there must be suffering, a clear sign that Jesus has drawn you so close to his heart that he can share his suffering with you. Without God, we can only spread pain and suffering around us." - St. Teresa of Calcutta
As I read that over and over, I thought of the world. How often do we look, but do not see? How often do we listen but do not hear? If only we would look upon each other with love and see beyond the surface. If only we could see the crosses each other bears. You see, every single one of us has a cross which we bear. Some bear it silently, while others share theirs. Some crosses are huge and heavy, while others are much smaller, and light, but regardless we all bear a cross.
The more I thought about that the more I realized that through these crosses and the hard times or sufferings we face in life, we encounter Christ in the most intimate and beautiful way. When we suffer or go through hard times is when we seem to hit our knees. When the cross becomes too heavy, we cry out, desperate for help, whether human or divine. But how much easier and more fulfilling would life be if we asked Christ to walk with us every step of the way instead of just when the cross got heavy? How much easier and lighter would our crosses be if we called for the divine help no man can provide, and realized that through our suffering was glory! Because through that suffering, you spent a few minutes of intimate time in prayer, or in thought about Christ; Time you otherwise wouldn't have spent.
That led me to my next thought. The faithfulness of the poor. My homeless friends are poor in earthly belongings only. I thought of the faith they shared proudly, and their desire to grow in Christ. Certainly, they have large crosses to bear, more so than most of us can imagine, but those are the people who call on God! I thought back to all the times they wanted to pray together, to all the times they asked for prayer, and most especially, to all the times they reminded me of how good God is. They are not afraid to cry out asking him to help bear their burdens.
Why are we afraid to ask for help? Are we too proud? Are we worried he will say no? Do we even want the help? Well, let me tell you what, our God is great!! He will never leave you alone to carry your own cross. In fact, he will carry you when the cross gets too heavy.
I guess my point is this: So often we spend time self-pitying, worrying, and feeling weighed down by the cross. Not seeing other people's crosses, and honestly not caring about them. Who among us doesn't feel those things? However, instead of letting the weight of the cross to crush us, we have to turn to the one who carried the ultimate cross. We have to invite and allow Christ to help us carry our cross. It's scary, and it's hard, because we like to be in control and we don't want to bruise our pride, but in these times, we have to let go, and let God. It is in these times when you can feel the love and mercy of Christ in it's simplest form. Besides, he carried the cross of salvation, who better to help you carry yours?
