Never Let the Fear of Striking Out...

A while ago someone asked me 'do you have a life verse?'  I replied 'um, a what?'.  He simply chuckled and said 'something that God has spoken in your heart, your mission for the world, the mission God has given to you!'. God uses all different kinds of ways to speak to us, but he gave us the most accurate love story of all time, when he gave us the bible!  He gave us our love story.  You want to know how live check out Moses and the 10 commandments, you need some encouragement look to the Psalms of David, you need some Wisdom we have a book for that, struggling and wondering if it's ever going to get better flip to Job and see how he dealt with things. Often as Catholics we leave the bible to our Protestant brothers and sisters who can recite it on point, so when my priest friend and convert asked if I had a life verse he wasn't in the least bit surprised that I was like 'um, a what?'.  Do you have one?

I have a great love for baseball and I know I've heard many places before that baseball can teach you a lot about life.  I'm a die hard Yankees fan so it's no surprise that one of my favorite quotes comes from Babe Ruth!  "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game".  When I was a kid I payed baseball and batting was one of my favorite parts, but I would get up to bat and get so scared of getting hit by the ball.  One day, I went up to bat, stood in the batter's box and here came a ball about 70 mph right for me.  Sometimes we allow fear to rule us, to take over what we know to be true, beautiful, and good.  For me, this wasn't just about baseball, but this stemmed into my life as well.  I allowed fear to swallow me whole, to put me in a box and tell me I wasn't good enough, to take me farther away from who I was created to be and down a path that led to poor decisions and despair.  

All my life, I've longed to be loved by everyone.  I didn't want to upset anyone, I found my value in what others believed of me instead of what I knew to be true.  When I decided to start my search in the one thing that had been with me since I was created in the womb, I soon realized that love was not about an ooeey gooey feeling.  Love was about God.  Love was what I was created for, love is my vocation.  The only thing bigger than fear is LOVE, and if God is love than God is bigger than fear and God is who I would seek to perfect my love!  He is the one I will seek for approval, he is the one that I long to be loved by, to increase my love for him.

SO now I ask you, do you have a life verse? 'A what?' haha a life verse.  Your mission from God, your example for others that is seen by how you live your life. How do you find it? Pray about it? Ask God to reveal your mission to you, and ask him to be clear; then open the bible and start reading it! We also have advantages these days such as social media and people posting, updating, or tweeting verses that stand out to them for the day or for their meditation.  Pay ATTENTION! If you see a verse or quote come up multiple times, write it down, research it (see if the quote actually has some form in the bible, bet it does!) take it to God, what is he saying, how does it affect you?  Keep track and just when you think it won't happen or this life verse stuff is whack you'll see a verse that captures your attention and you will say 'THAT'S IT'.  You'll see it! Don't be afraid to test it out, it's something that you'll be living by, will it fit your lifestyle!?  

After much prayer and searching, I found mine "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love." 1 John 4:18

2015 is here upon us, many of us have made resolutions to not make resolutions.  We've made goals, we've failed goals already and it's only Jan 9th! I challenge you to find God's will in your life, to find God's love in your life, to allow God to resonate through you that others may see HIS light within you and the way you live your life.  What is it that he is calling you to?  How does he want to enhance your life?  We're all seeking to be loved, when was the last time you picked up His love story for you? 

--Live Jesus--