Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.
You are God's beloved daughter. He has a masterful plan for you, and it is meant to make you more like Him, the Loving Father.
Beloved, you are His.
Do you believe it? Some days, it is hard to believe that I am anything much special. Many days, I feel like I look: exhausted, ragged, and sloppy (which I place all the blame for on my five children and sleepless nights). No matter how I look or feel, though, I am still God's beloved daughter.
I'm in a place in my life that I know and am living my vocation. I am a wife and mother. This is my calling . . . and yet, there is still more, right? God's plan has not reached its fulfillment in my life, and I think this is what Saint John means in the First Reading. "What we shall be has not yet been revealed . . . ." Whatever God's final and complete plan is for each of us, we do not yet know. What I do know, is that since my baptism, I've been God's child, His beloved daughter.
As such, I make choices daily to live my life worthy to be called a child of God. I choose to serve my family. I choose to teach my children all about our faith, and help them learn the words to the prayers we hold dear. I choose to serve my neighbor out of love. I choose to be 100% open to life in my marriage, practicing NFP instead of contracepting, which is the norm in our culture. I choose to live with hope that one day, God will welcome me with open arms into Heaven.
Because I have this hope—the hope that one day, God will reveal His complete plan for me, and that He will make me like Him (perfect, loving, holy in His image)—I am striving each day to "make {myself} pure," to be seeking God first, to be lovingly serving my family, to be the best version of me that I can be. Isn't that what God wants for us? For us to be the best version of ourselves, because when we are, we will be like Him? We will be shining examples of Love and Truth in our lives, just as He desires for us. And when we are like Him, we have hope to be with Him in Heaven.
Beloved, you are His. Choose today to live accordingly, no matter how rotten you feel, no matter how others treat you. You are worthy. You are the Father's BELOVED daughter. Let that give you hope, and let the hope change you.
How will you let hope transform you today?
Gina Fensterer is a wife, daughter, mother, friend, homeschooling mama and Colorado native. You can find out more about her here.
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