Don't Give Up

Do you feel like you’re not making any progress, and perhaps even drowning as you try to swim against a current which never seems to let up? Do the people in your life who should “get it”, not? Do you feel alone, whether sitting at the computer, sitting at your desk, or sitting in your living room – even if your co-workers or family are around you? Do you feel just “down”, and no one seems to care?

Don’t give up.

I was reading this morning Bishop Sheen’s writings about the Sorrows of Mary, like the thrusts of a sword which pierced her heart. The second thrust was described as the flight to Egypt: “A Babe was hated! That was the point of the second thrust of the Sword, ‘As they have hated Me, so will they hate you.’” The third thrust was the three days loss of the child: “She experienced loneliness and abandonment” just like her son would: “My God, My God, why hast Thou abandoned Me?”

Do you feel no one seems to care? You’re not the first one to feel that way; some far more important people felt the same way, and understand your suffering. You say you want to imitate Christ? Then try to understand what He and the saints did when they were abandoned, when they were beat down, when they felt unloved. They didn’t give up.

More Sheen: “’What have I done to deserve this?’ is a cry of pride. What did Jesus do? What did Mary do? Let there be no complaint against God for sending a cross. Everyone in the world has a cross, but no two crosses are identical. Our will is the only thing that is absolutely our own; hence it is the perfect offering we can make to God: ‘Not what I will, but what Thou will.’”

Mother Teresa often felt alone. She felt “the sudden, sinking feeling of having lost all faith in God and in religion, a trial which has afflicted many Christian believers in the past. Saintly and courageous men and women quite often lived and worked for years without any notable consolation of spirit. (Theresa believed, however, that) her feeling of being unloved and unwanted could help in some way to unite her more closely with the poorest of the poor. She wrote: ‘If my darkness is a light to some soul … I am perfectly happy. With me the sunshine of darkness is bright.’” (I Loved Jesus in the Night) Theresa knew that what we most often view as a trial is really an opportunity. We just don’t know it.

Some of the best moments of my life have been when I received an unexpected consolation from God, not for something I tried to do, but for something I didn’t even know I had done – when He had used me, and I didn’t even know it. Most recently, I printed small cards to hand out announcing this website. A friend said: “You’re turning into a preacher!” Before I could even think of a response, another friend said: “He’s been a preacher as long as I’ve known him, he just never used words before.” I wondered what he had seen in me to cause that response, but I was quietly pleased. Another time I was hugged by a woman in tears, as she thanked me for all the encouraging words I had spoken to her during a weekend conference at Notre Dame. As I looked over her shoulder at her husband, he looked as surprised as I felt. I wonder what I said, but I’m sure God was letting me know I conveyed his words correctly.

We don’t usually get consolations like that, as we go through our life trying to “be good”. And often we feel totally unloved, alone, and unappreciated. Don’t give up! You’re not alone! God is there with you, helping you as you carry your cross. And perhaps the very act of your carrying the cross is an inspiration to someone who you do not know, in ways you do not understand. God reads your heart; will to do His will, so “that the sunshine of your darkness may be bright”.

Sometimes when I kneel in adoration before Jesus, I get distracted – usually with MY crosses. I can’t seem to get a conversation going between us. My words fail, and I can’t hear His. To get the conversation going, I sometimes read a song or hymn, one which speaks in the first person, me to Him, or Him to me. The songs, often love songs, are ones I have chosen carefully. They resonate in my soul, and after beginning to slowly read them, I find myself singing the song to Jesus, or hear Him singing to me. One of my favorites is the following, where He speaks to me:

You Are Loved (Don’t Give Up)
Don’t give up,
It’s just the weight of the world.
When your heart’s heavy, I
I will lift it for you.

Don’t give up,
Because you want to be heard.
If silence keeps you
I will break it for you.

Everybody wants to be understood,
Well, I can hear you.
Everybody wants to be loved,
Don’t give up!
Because you are loved!

Don’t give up,
It’s just the hurt that you hide.
When you’re lost inside, I,
I’ll be there to find you.

Don’t give up,
Because you want to burn bright.
If darkness blinds you, I,
I will shine to guide you.

Everybody wants to be understood.
Well, I can hear you.
Everybody wants to be loved.
Don’t give up!
Because you are loved!

Don’t give up,
It’s just the weight of the world.

Don’t give up,
Everybody needs to be heard.
You are loved!

(c)Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada
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Whether you hear God’s words as music to your ears, or in the silence of your heart, know that you are not alone. You are loved. Don’t give up, my friends, don’t give up.