Today is my son Jack's first birthday, and 10.10.23 was by far the most monumental day of my life. Jack was a prayer that was answered, and a gift beyond our wildest dreams that we asked for and so gratefully received. It still takes my breath away to think back to the day he was born.
What a lovely instance that my day to write the reflection fell on this day and that the Gospel for today mentions family, children, and calls us to be persistent with God in our prayers. Notice I didn't call this a coincidence, because the truth is, God knew all along! This is also, to my knowledge, one of the few times in New Testament Scripture where the weariness of a young parent is spelled out quite clearly; "Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed." honestly, this is fairly relatable and I feel well represented here! I laughed to myself and thought, this is why we ask the big stuff from God and cannot solely rely on our own weakness. There's only so much any of us can do, so we leave what we're too weary to handle to God.
The lesson that made itself clear to me here is that we are weary and weak when asked to do too much, but God is not. God is never tired of our pleading, always waiting for us to ask for what he knows we need.
We are called to be seekers here on earth, we are called to continue to journey of faith day after day. There is a nomad quality to a seeker, a longing for what is not yet met. This journeying along seeking what is above is the reality of being in this would but not of it. We are forever seeking, slowly finding what we're looking for along the way. Seeking and Finding has a rhythm and a balance to it that keeps us coming back for more. Some of the realities we find outweigh others, some wins are bigger than others. In this year of life as a mother, a parent, I have found such deep love and joy but I continue to seek balance and rest, but such is life; a continual rhythm of seeking and finding from one phase to the next, day by day, year by year.