Good Morning! I hope today you have taken a moment to be grateful for all of this past weeks occurrences so you can start this week off strong. Today the week does not end but begins. If you haven't done it yet, close your eyes, real quick, and say Thank You for ONE great thing that happened. I'll wait. Today we're reading Father Ian Jeremiah's third installment. If you're just tuning in, after you've read today's words of wisdom, head on over to Putting Life Into Perspective with Father Ian Jeremiah and Putting Life Into Perspective with Father Ian Jeremiah Series: Chicken and Pig .
Hot Chocolate
A group of ten friends had gathered on Thanksgiving Day, at my home, in the later part of the evening. The turkey had already been eaten for hours, the dishes washed, and the left overs sent to new homes with guests. It was time for some Hot Chocolate. My hot chocolate is made from special ingredients and LOVE, the secret ingredient. I don't mean to toot my own horn but I have seen people fight over it. It never fails. I grab every single mug in my cupboard, all of them different. Some of them I admit are not so pretty, but that little fact never changes the deliciousness of the hot chocolate. Every time my friends and I gather for Hot Chocolate though, I put the mugs out and everyone seems to scan them. I close my eyes and I just hope they do not see the one with the small chip on top. I did notice that everyone does seem to go for the prettier, newer mugs first. This leaves me with my favorite chipped cup. I close my eyes with each sip to relish in the sweetness of the chocolate and the subtle heat of the chili. I smile and look around at my friends and they each seem to be checking out each others mugs. Weird. But hey you love your friends anyways, right? Wait, are those two arguing over what mug they have? SMH, for the love of Hot Chocolate. Guys your cups have the same thing inside, yes, so drink!
When Father Ian's friends came over for his famous Hot Chocolate on Thanksgiving Day, he noticed that his friends seemed to be more interested in the mugs they were brought out in then that actual hot chocolate. Two of his friends even fought over who saw the prettier mug first. He explained that Hot Chocolate in this story is really Life. We are given this beautiful thing called life, but we do not enjoy the richness of the flavors. We do not savor the subtle hints of LOVE. We scan the mug. We get distracted with our jobs, with what clothes we wear, with what we drive and with what our other friends have. Are you shaking your head, not me?
It's human nature to sometimes feel superior or inadequate when we compare ourselves to others. When we look around to see what mug our friends are drinking out of, it seems to change our perspective. BUT, we are all drinking the same thing. It is easy to become distracted. It requires a lot of self love and appreciation of YOURSELF and LIFE to be truly happy with what you have and to be happy for OTHERS. Father Ian's favorite cup was the chipped cup, but he was still able to relish the dreamy taste of the hot chocolate. He reminded me that Saturday, at the RCIA Congress meeting, that I need to just enjoy hot chocolate and stop getting distracted by my mug. If you are already doing that, YAY! Please share some words of wisdom below in the comments.
I'll leave you with today's Second Reading.
Rv 1:5-8 [The Alpha and the Omega]
By the shedding of his blood, Jesus has made us a royal nation of priests to serve God. The Lord God is the Alpha and Omega - the beginning and the end. He is Almighty.
A reading from the Book of Revelation
Jesus Christ is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us into a kindgdom, priests for his God and the Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him. Yes Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, " says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."
-The word of the Lord.
-Thanks be to God.
Let it marinate.
Until then, 
*The story of Hot Chocolate has been modified slightly as I did not take exact notes of the story line.
If you like what you've read, warm my heart and follow the blog! Likes are great for those who don't want to comment. Just go to right side panel, look for FOLLOWERS and click Join This Site! Join the My Pocketful of Thoughts community by giving a LIKE to the FB Page! Just hit like and feel free to share it with lovely like minded people by hitting send below.
Join in on the conversation, click here to get started.
