The "Little Way" of Suffering

 This year I am a catechist in a level one atrium doing Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. It's a Montessori style Catholic religious education program. I have 14 (!!!) 3-6 year olds in my atrium and they honestly amaze me every week.

A few weeks ago, I was presenting the Magi to a three year old and as I finished, I said "I wonder why they brought gold to the baby Jesus." Sweet Jack said to me, "because He's a KING!" 
I said "YES! He's a King! But the Magi were kings too.... so why was Baby Jesus different?" (Honestly I had no idea what he would say.) And Jack said "because of the FATHER!" 

Out of the mouths of babes, right?

This week I made it to the chapel every day but Friday. So we're putting that in the W column. 

I think the two best things I have ever done to become more holy are 1. putting my physical body in the same physical space as Jesus for more than 10 minutes per day and 2. getting in the WORD daily. 

I have a LOT of rough edges that the Lord is trying to smooth out. On one hand, I am hesitant to call anything that I experience suffering because I know that I live a very privileged life: a life that people pray for, a life that I've prayed for. On the other hand, any time we die to ourselves and our preferences, it is a suffering, isn't it? And if I brush it off as a minor inconvenience or an annoyance, I'm not letting the Lord into it. If I call it suffering, then I can extend an invitation to the Lord to let Him come in. 

Since the new liturgical year began at Advent, I feel like my word for this year is Suffering. But I also don't think that there is going to be any huge trial I face or any big obstacle I have to overcome. Instead, I think the Lord is teaching me the "little way" of suffering. He's walking through my heart and picking up little stones that have been firmly rooted. It hurts when He lifts them up, but then He asks, "can I come and abide in this space too?" And have I not been praying "Thy will be done" for decades? So yes, Jesus, you can come and abide even in the hard rocky crevices and the tenderness underneath, even in the dirt and the mud and the space between. You can come and be the light in the places that have been shrouded in darkness for far too long, even when it hurts a little to let you get there. Thy will be done.