Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Hebrews 12:14

Let everyone lead the life that is assigned to him. You don’t have to be somewhere else to be holy. You can be holy wherever you are.

Bible in a Year, Day 334 by Fr. Mike Schmitz

Often times we hear ourselves say, “It would be impossible for me to be a saint if I’m in this place.” We say this phrase too often that we come to believe in it.

We rationalize that the people around us irritates us, exhausts our patience, impossible to be with, etc.

The thing is, the very place we are in, is an opportunity for us to be holy and imitate Christ.

Jesus never said it would be easy because the road to holiness is paved with difficulties, humiliation, and all the negative experiences that you can think of. And yet we are called to respond to these difficulties with total humility.

As an exhausted mother, we are called to humility. To understand a child who is going through something, when all you ever want to do is to yell because you wanted to be understood too.

As an eldest sibling, you are called to humility to help your younger brothers or sisters with their school tasks, while you struggle to beat the deadline of your own research paper due on that week.

As a tired husband, you are called to humility to decipher why your wife suddenly feels unhappy when all you wanted to do is to slump on the bed and doze off.

There is always a choice!

A choice to do the right thing pleasing to the Lord. Or let go of our fallen nature because you feel that you are entitled to it.

Self-care doesn’t have to be selfish. Choosing to take care of yourself also means not to engage in negative words and actions. Such words and actions will hinder your relationship with God.

Repost from jennocampo.com, December 22, 2023.