Changes, Changes, Changes

Transformation occurs when you surrender your life to the will of God.  Unfortunately, you do not always have a map, nor can you call or text God on your smart phone for directions. Praying to God, then listening is the way. Sometimes you can't hear the response due to the multiple distractions that bombard us each moment of every day.

 I am learning this as I continue balancing my faith with my work in the world.  Mitigating this challenge is becoming a priority in my life.  I am happy to say that God, the Source of Life,  is winning.  Whenever my work poses any conflict with my Faith I begin to get dysfunctional. I have struggled because this seems to start before I am fully aware of it.    It is not even a choice any more.  I simple can no longer give energy or do things that violate my faith.  Sometimes throughout my career I was able to express this and that was enough, my supervisor or manager would permit me to adjust the process I was using so it would fit my conscience.  But that has not always been the case.

So here is my challenge.  How can I live my faith and make a living that supports my family at the same time?  How can I remain authentic, living as a whole hearted, God loving, human being, and still work in an imperfect world that seems at every step to be working against the True self I am becoming.  It seems the only way I can do this is to work in ministry or be in a professional position where I can control the work I accept or reject.  Seems I have two career choices going forward.

The first and my preference is to get a job doing the work God wants me to do that will provide for my family.  As a certified rehabilitation counselor, for the last 28 years, I have always believed I was doing the work of God by helping individuals with disabilities find livable employment.      So I continue to look for a job that will permit me to do this work.  I have not found the right job yet, but believe there is one out there.  I still have a few opportunities I am waiting for the next steps.  I remain hopeful. In the meantime I have started offering my professional services. http://stevecratecrc-public.sharepoint.com/ Since I was in the business for more that 15 years ago, I am getting cases assigned and remain hopeful.  

So I continue day by day to do the work assigned, look for the full time job with benefits and pray that the right job will come along. God willing it will all in good time. 

Instrumentum Laboris... a good read for searching Catholics...

http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2014/06/october-instrumentum.html

Stacking out at 73 pages and released at Roman Noon, the all-important Instrumentum Laboris for October's Synod on the Family is available as both html and pdf.

Don't let somebody else be your brain, folks – do yourself a favor and actually read it https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5FGuFFkfrDvanFuZlBGbENJdDg/preview" 

Anger is OK... but...

Great article by Rekha Shrivastava, M.S., CH, CRC, CASAC at  http://tinyurl.com/l7e4ely    This article has some good information.

I know that for men who grew up in the Western social/cultural norm where expressed anger is seen as "manly" or "strong" or "powerful". the new social values may be difficult.  Strongly expressed anger or some might even call it "verbal violence" is unacceptable in most social settings. It appears only to be acceptable by a Staff Sargent in basic training and that may not even be true today.

Our world is so much smaller now and we as human beings are more than our family or even nationality of origin's expressed norms. So anger expressed in an emotional way simply does no good even though it may be cathartic for the individual speaking.   I have recently become aware that I sometimes have been perceived in that way and never really knew it.  So.... learning to express anger in an acceptable way is critical for me and for others (males and females) in our society. 

So for all the times I have lost my temper in a meeting or social setting or other public place I ask for forgiveness from friends, professional colleagues, clients, parishioners and any others who I may have hurt by this expressed anger.  My intention was never to harm anyone.  I know the way to Hell is paved with good intentions.  So I guess as my Mother would say, " Steve there is no excuse, if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it.  She was proper Bostonian and I miss her dearly. 

 Namaste  #PBTGA