A Tethered Heart

After reading a post by Mark Mallett, I knew what I was to name this post.  It corresponds to this post.  My daughter had a dream and I didn't quite know how to go about relaying the message in the dream. This morning I asked God that question and I was lead to Mark's blog.   And... now I know.

Nicole had a dream on Saturday night.  She woke at around 4:00 a.m. after a rather strange dream...

First she saw a strange Lord of the Rings type of battle going on.  Good versus evil.  Then, it switches to a bowl of eggs.  All different colors.  Then immediately she's on a beach.  And then she wakes up.  Right away she thought... should we not go on that vacation to Florida?  Is something going to happen?  Then, she sensed, no that's not it.

Then she began to ponder on how much time she had been spending on a future vacation.  Thinking about it and searching the web, ect.  She felt it impressed upon her heart that she should be giving more of her time and attention to the eternal rather than earthly, temporal things.

She then sensed she heard... "Go to your mom's blog!"  It was 4:00 a.m. she was tired and she thought maybe tomorrow.  However, it kept nagging at her to go to my blog.  Finally, she gave in for she knew she wouldn't otherwise go back to sleep.

She then goes on my blog cruisin' it, not really knowing where to go on it.  Then she thought, I'll go on the post "Directions", since the dream was about travelling and also maybe I need direction.  So she reads that post when suddenly without touching the phone it scrolls by itself to the post "Smiles".  She said she's reading the post thinking, sure this is nice, but what does this have to do with anything... then toward the end of the post she starts reading this...

(excerpted from post "Smiles")

"Oh Father God.  You are so awesome!  I love you so.  You make me smile!"

The next morning upon waking I thanked Father so much for last night.  And, this was impressed upon my heart... 

"You deserve it daughter.  You love Me!  You love Me like a daughter should love her Father.  You visit Me.  You talk to Me.  You come to Me with your problems.  You care what I think.

So many of My children never visit Me.  They never talk to Me.  

They ignore Me.

I am their Father.  I created them.  I love all My children.  I long for them!  But, so many of them ignore Me.

I just want their love.  Is that really too much to ask?

Me:  "But Father, I also did that longer ago."

Father:  "Yes child.  You were rebellious like many children are.  But, you came home to Me.  Just like I knew you would.  You came home to Papa!

So many of My children never come home.  Never in their entire lifetime.  

I love you, daughter.  Yes, this is a love story between a father and his daughter.  You are Mine!"

Me:  "And my family comes along attached to me?" 

Father:  "Yes."

End of Post

After reading this Nicole thought, Oh!  Father, so you're saying you want us to go to church tomorrow, with all the kids?  You see the night before Nicole and Andy decided for Palm Sunday to go to separate masses and not take the kids. Because, taking the kids sometimes is a tad bit crazy.  Then, she heard... "Yes, you prayed for these children.  I gave these blessings to you, why don't you let them visit Me?"

She immediately taps Andy and says, "Andy, I just had a dream and God says we need to go to church tomorrow together."  Andy sleepily replied, "Oh, okay.  You mean the kids too?"  She answered him "Yes, the kids too."  He said, "Um, okay." then fell back to sleep.  The next morning they had everyone to the 9:00 mass.

The church parking lot was packed and they were running a couple minutes late, so upon entering the packed church she asked God, "We're all here, we made it!  Please God help us find a seat, because I don't know if I can handle a long mass with these kids and nowhere to sit."  They then proceed to the cry room and lo and behold, there was not a single soul in the cry room.  They had the entire cry room to themselves.  She said that Never happens!  And, besides that... she said the kids were very good!  Thank You God!

This morning I didn't know how to go about this post, when I sensed I needed to go to Mark Mallett's blog.  This is excerpted from His post for today...

"Why am I so restless, so torn it seems between the world and You?  How I long to be in the stratosphere of Your presence and love!  What am I doing wrong?"

"Look down my child?"

"What is it Lord?"

"See, there-those ropes leading up to your heart.  These tethered to the earthly plane, tied to a love of creatures and temporal things.  So long as these remained fastened to Your heart, you cannot fly heavenward."

"Do you mean..."

"Yes, My child-your attachment to being in control.  Your attachment things, which you assiduously guard from being scratched or sullied.  Those attachments to your reputation and being approved of.  The attachment to food, money, and absolute security.  And yes, child, even your attachment to those whom you love."

"Is it wrong then Lord, to have these things?"

"They are only things, child, to be used as such.  To possess or not possess them counts little; but to let them possess you counts greatly.  You Cannot Serve Two Masters.  Do you know why?"

"Why Lord?"

"Because I made you to love Me alone, because I alone am the source of your happiness.  You are not only flesh, but spirit, made in My image. Ah, to just say this child, makes My heart burn with love for you as I continue to live in the moment when the genius of the Holy Trinity conceived Our plan to create man in Our Image, Oh, if you could live in that moment with Us, you would see how We long to restore you to that happy union, which Adam and Eve knew, but lost.  You would see how terrible an exchange it is to choose love of creatures over the Creator; How the angels cringe when man stoops so low beneath his dignity."

In order to soar toward union with God, our hearts must be untethered from love of created things and attached only to the Creator, whom alone we were made for.  End of Entry

So, what can we gather from all of this?  It seems God is trying to point out to us to look "up" to what's really important.  Don't keep looking downward.  Get away from earthly views and attachments.  If we are to soar and fly, we must detach ourselves from earthly desires.  He's telling us...

"Look up My people!  Look up!"

Set your sights on high!

I think the battle Nicole saw in her dream refers to the actual battle that is going on between good and evil, physical and spiritual, temporal and everlasting.  There is such a pull, a tug of war.  It's a war we are all fighting.

Today at Eucharistic Adoration I asked Jesus about all of this and it was heavily impressed upon me... "Contentment. It's all about being content in every situation.  To not search out something bigger, better or best of the earthly, but to search out Him only.  To search out the Heavenly Kingdom first and everything else will be added unto you."

When I got home I opened my "Jesus Calling" randomly to page 130 - May 3:  You Cannot Serve Two Masters".

Funny how in Mark Mallett's post it is mentioned... You Cannot Serve Two Masters.  

Not a coincidence!