January 8, 2025 // Wednesday after Epiphany
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Mark 6: 45-52
Reflect on the Word// It was one of those nights where I just couldn’t turn off the mental noise. I wasn’t tossing and turning but mostly aware that I wasn’t fully asleep either. My mind felt like a food processor chopping, crumbling, and kneading through a day’s worth of unpleasant conversations. Suddenly it felt as though someone had cranked the machine to the high setting as I pictured the unsettling social media post, the results of my blood work confirming the anemia that had left me depleted for the last several months, and all of my broken relationships which were mixed in there too.
I had been proud of myself for limiting my screen time, but even my well intentioned efforts weren’t able to shield me. It probably didn’t help that the baby had just woken up at 1 a.m.
Further, I had been consistent in prayer, following through on my spiritual disciplines. Yet there was something I was missing: God’s command to take courage.
Jesus wanted me to insert His words—“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” (Mark 6:51)—in everything that was plaguing me. The tossing of waves and gusts of wind in our lives can only be remedied through Him.
Take courage with severed friendships.
Take courage with broken relationships.
Take courage with ailments.
Take courage in all of the worry.
I may not have ever experienced literally being tossed around in a boat like the disciples, but I have felt the wind gusts pushing me, impairing my ability to see, and their force uprooting what I perceived to be unshakable.
The disciples who had just seen Jesus perform the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand perceived Jesus as a ghost when they saw Him walking in the sea. Jesus not only commands them to take courage, but He goes further by telling them to not be afraid. There is no trust without courage. Our relationship with Jesus is only strengthened by the courage we exercise as we trust Him. The tossing will come, and when it does, may we accept His grace to heed His command to take courage and not be afraid.
Relate to the Lord // Where do you need to take courage? Write your own litany today and allow Jesus to speak into your storms.
Mytae Carrasco Wallace is Las Vegas born and raised and holds a Masters in Public Administration. She and her husband have the privilege of leading Pre-Cana retreats for their home parish. On the daily you can find her raising her three kiddos, choreographing dance moves to entertain her children, and doing her own version of carpool karaoke. She was a contributing author to All She Had. Find out more about her here. Mytae es creada y nacida en Las Vegas, NV. Tiene su Maestría en Administración Pública. Ella y su esposo tienen el privilegio de dirigir los retiros de Pre-Cana para su parroquia. Diariamente puedes encontrarla criando a sus tres hijos, coreografiando movimientos de baile para entretener a sus hijos y cantando su propia versión de karaoke en el carro. Fue autora contribuyente de All She Had. Conozca la mejor aquí..
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