It’s the sole reason my parents purchased the piece of property it sits on.
It’s come to symbolize faith, family and fortitude.
It’s a rock, and quite a large one.
It sits in the backyard of my childhood home which I now own with my sister after our parents unexpectedly passed.
It’s the place that I run to when I am in need of comfort, perspective and strength. It’s the place that rebuilds me and re-fills my soul in times of uncertainty.
It’s a place of unmatched beauty, peace and serenity. It’s the place I long for and call home.
It’s the place I feel closest to my deceased parents and where I always find God… it’s my own piece of heaven here on earth.
As we rushed out of the house, headed to a surprise party, Matt asked “Can we stop at the store and drop of the recyclables”? Looking at the time, I agreed and off we went.
When we got to the store, Matt jumped out and headed to the back of the car. I hit the button to proactively open the door for him and in true dad fashion felt compelled to state the obvious.
“Matt, make sure you scan the bag before putting it into the bin.” I stated.
“OK.” Matt replied.
As he pulled the bag out of the trunk, several bottles fell onto the ground.
Again, in true Dad fashion…
“Matt, make sure you tie the bag tight before you put it in the bin.” I yelled. No reply as the door slowly closed. Did he hear me? Well, I better call him because God forbid 15 cents worth of bottles fall out. LOL
“Hello.” Matt answers.
“Make sure you tie the bag tight.” I repeated.
“Yeah Dad.” I heard you Matt replied.
“Great. Thanks Matt.” I hung up, satisfied that he had been trained on properly on the “how” of returning recyclables to the store. LOL
As I sat and waited, my impatience grew. The recycle bin is literally 20 steps into the store. What is taking so long? I guess I better text him.
“Matt, what’s up?” I texted. No reply. As I typed the next text, suddenly out he comes.
Now before we go any further, it must be stated. Matt is 15 and has done this alone many times. My “perceived guidance” on the “how” of this process is clearly overkill and if I’m honest, completely unnecessary.
As he gets in the car, again, I cannot help myself.
“What took so long?” I asked.
“Well, I wanted to check and see how much money was on the account. Since there was only $8 and change, I decided to just get $5 to leave some for next time. When I went to counter for the money, there was line of people. A little old lady noticed all I needed was to turn in my receipt and she let me cut the line. As she let me go ahead. I thanked her and she said “of course, I would hope someone would do the same for me someday.” As I turned in my receipt for the $5, I thought why not give her the $5 for letting me ahead of her. So I did.” Matt said nonchalantly.
(Insert jaw drop)
As I set there worrying about the “how” of returning $5 worth of bottles, had I missed the bigger picture? Had Matt in fact just taught me something even more important? The importance of being kind, helping others and paying your blessings forward. Next time I’ll worry less about “how” he returns the bottles and more about the “man he becomes” as a result of returning the bottles.
Although everyone doesn’t practice Lent or share their faith in the same way, I firmly believe that taking a period of prayer, fasting and almsgiving as Lent prescribes, gives us time to reflect, time to prioritize what matters most and time to put our faith back at the center of our lives. A time to “empty the jar” so to speak. After the challenges of the last 2 years, I cannot think of a better time for the beauty, perspective and focus that the Lenten Season invites us to explore starting this week as we journey towards Easter.
As a Catholic, the practice of Lent is part of our faith. A time of prayer, fasting (sacrifice) and alms giving. A time of reflection, a time to refocus and a time to prepare for the resurrection of Jesus on Easter.
As a child and even young adult, I never really appreciated this ritual and only associated pain with fasting or what most call “giving something up”. My thoughts always began and ended with “Well, what do I give up this year?” This mindset of only associating Lent to “sacrifice” (pain) prevented me from seeing the real beauty and purpose of the Lenten Season until one day…
It was a normal Sunday. Well, by normal I mean my motivation for attending church was sadly out of obligation. It was the Sunday before Ash Wednesday…just days before Lent begins. I’ll admit, I am not really sure what happened. All I know is as Father Rodino began his homily, I was captivated more than usual. Don’t get me wrong, I always loved listening to his homilies and admired his ability to relate the Gospel to our everyday lives but today was different.
He wasn’t alone. Up on the altar he was joined by children carrying 3 mason jars filled with what appeared to be different sized marbles. I could tell from the start this was going to be symbolic in his homily. My curiosity began to rise. As Father motioned, the children chaotically attempted to combine the jars of different shaped marbles into one jar. It was quickly clear it couldn’t all fit as the marbles began to spill out and bang around on the altar and floor. As the children frantically tried to collect the marbles, I could see people shift in their seats, whispering to each other… “what is he doing?” Father said nothing, but I could sense from his body language that he almost regretted his decision to use this metaphor to make his point this week. Nonetheless, he now had our full attention and faithfully forged ahead with his homily.
He began” You see, the jar represents a vessel…the vessel of our minds, bodies and spirit. And the marbles represent the things we “fill this vessel up with” like worry, stress, materialism, faith, overscheduling, pride and greed.” He went on to say that over time our lives(vessels) can become so cluttered and “overfilled” with the wrong “stuff” that we cannot add anything else. It is at this time that we can lose focus and hope because what really matters can no longer be “fit” into the center of our lives (God). He paused…
Again, Father motioned to children. This time instead of randomly adding the marbles to a jar, the children slowly emptied the jars, this time carefully and quietly, separating the marbles into 3 sizes…large, medium and small. Then thoughtfully the children added the largest marbles first, then the medium sized ones, then the smallest to one of the jars…this time they all fit! Father went on to explain that for Catholics, Lent is a time to clear our minds, to declutter our lives and to prioritize what matters by turning back to God and “putting Him in the jar first” (largest marble). By first doing this, He is at the “center” of our lives, enabling us to properly fit everything else that matters around Him. In other words, the Lenten practice of prayer, fasting and alms giving helps us “empty our jar” and return to God.
This image and metaphor has stuck with me for over a decade now and always reminds me how important the Lenten Season is. I’ve told this story countless times to friends and family, but felt compelled this year to capture it in my blog as we begin Lent today. Thank you Father Rodino. You changed the way I see Lent. The way I see life. The way I see the importance of “emptying my jar” and putting God at the center as we prepare for the resurrection of Jesus on Easter.
May your “jar” be filled first with what matters most…
