Greener Grass

When I was a kid, one of my Mom's favorite sayings was "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."  Meaning when we are having troubles, everyone else's life always looks so much better than ours.  Now grown, actually it is greener on the other side of the fence - my neighbor waters their grass all summer - so when my grass is brown and crunchy - their is lush and beautiful - but at what price - see I live in the city and  have city water - so we pay for every drop that comes out of our spicket.  I'll water my flower pots, but we let the grass go - it will rain, eventually, and then it will be green again, and my husband will have to start mowing again.  I've thought about getting a rain barrel to capture rain water for my flowers -- but that's a whole other topic for another blog post on our responsibility to care for God's creation.  Let's get back to the grass is greener thought.

This past weekend's Gospel (John 6:60-69) we hear Jesus ask Peter if he was going to leave too - Peter's response is perfect "Master, to who shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  Being Christians is not always easy - we hear the Gospels challenging us to work to live better lives, to love those who hate us, and to give without expecting return.  But as Peter - who would we go to but Christ.

Well, this has had me pondering this week --- what is the difference of "life with Christ" and "life without Christ."  I know my life with Christ has not always been a cake walk - there is not some prayer which makes all my troubles go "Poof" and disappear from my life.  But I look to some of my family members who do not believe in God - and think about what does their lives look like?

Those who are without faith seem to live for the here and now -- and for themselves.  They may have successful work and may seem to skate through life.  But we don't truly know what is lying underneath and at what price does this life style come with.

Ok, this lead to another thought to ponder (I know, I move from one thought to another - but hang with me - I have a point.) I began to think about how wonderful other people's lives look like (greener grass.)  It can be very easy to laps into the lifestyle society has laid out before us.  When I was a young bride - my new husband was not Catholic and though he was a believer, he was not interested in attending weekly Church.  I found it hard every Sunday to get up and go to Mass by myself - and found I was looking for excuses to not go.  I was only thinking of me - my needs. Eventually,  I was able to break that cycle by volunteering for things with the Church - it helped me to give service but also make a support system so that even though I was driving to Mass on my own, once inside I had a family in faith there ready to greet me.  I also found new strength in attending weekly which gave me the courage to live a life of Christ.  This is why when I'm asked about the need to attend weekly Mass - my answer is that it is important - it renews our faith - it feeds our souls - and it prepares us for the week ahead.  And the big answer - Mass is not about us - it is about praise the Father and thanking him for all the blessings he has given us.  This is an important point I think many of us sometimes forget.

So, I reason the big question for our lives is - not green grass or brown crunchy grass but whether we we choose death or eternal life.  I'm sure you can guess my answer.