Remember

Tranquility.

I'm sure God is aware of my  pain as much as I am; it is such a common circumstance that I forget to make my offering, but then, it is part of aging. The young have no conception of little pains being so pervasive and all encompassing. In any case, I can mention it because it is not that intense, and you brace yourself for the next wave when you try to stand up to go do something. Other than mentioning it, and chiding myself for not making a conscious offering,  it blends into the continuum of awareness.

Then there are the times when I have to turn down a friend; not because I couldn't do it, but because I am not disposed to acquiesce. There is someone else available to water his plants in his absence, and I was not that happy the last time I did it and he complained that one of the plants died because i did not give it  enough water.

He has a habit of ignoring people or taking them for granted, and this is my way of combatting that a little.
On the other hand, I have made a point of checking on him and offering treatment advice when he has been sick or indisposed because of a side effect of a new medication.

Even cats and dogs will correct misbehavior. 

There are others in the bright light of public life that I would love to correct, but they are insulated from the harsh realities of life and are never touched with the moments ordinary people encounter. I am sure that the Lord disappoints them as He does the rest of us. Too bad the evil they do so blithely can't be held against them. Time and circumstance  put things into perspective for all.

It was more than just a bad day when Jesus tortured and beaten with Roman scourges and crowned with thorns as a wry statement to the Jews, though I wonder if they caught the innuendo. Jesus was unmercifully tormented until the moment He died. He underwent that final moment and did not beg off.

Perhaps we can remember that when we see people around us. We do not know what they are feeling or just how deeply they are tried by sickness and suffering they can't even mention because it hurts too much and they are too weary with it all.

There are times I wish I could mention them to the Lord and be sure my friends the suffering  ones could be instantly freed of the pain and weariness, but that isn't how it works, and often times, in order to obtain a favor for a friend, a lot must be borne. If you are free of pain and weariness, do not forget those who are not. Those who will take the time to remember are the ones who comfort Christ on His journey up Golgotha's hill.

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You might ask what penance I do. Modified fasting is the one thing I can do on my own that is truly penitential. I take medication for diabetes that curbs the appetite, but still, does not take it away altogether, and if I get too carried away fasting, I suffer the consequences. 

Not so  much in my control is sleep. Typically I go to bed around 5pm unless I am not feeling really sleepy. I may then wake up around midnite. Some nights i get up then, and other times just get up because I can't sleep. It is difficult doing without sleep. Then reading come to mind and after a while go to bed again.

Either way, I am in God's hands to control.