It Is Finished

I hesitated to post this because I try to keep faith outside work, however I also recognize it can be uncomfortable. That said, I wrote this while carrying my autistic child. Today I find it more poignant than ever before.

I don't believe in coincidence, and I do believe in whispers from God. When we were pregnant, I was given the opportunity to speak at our Good Friday Service. At the time, the words I was given "It is finished" I believed had meaning that circled back to the loss of my cousin Clare, but those words and the talk I gave seem to resonate even more now.

No one chooses to have a child with additional support needs or a disability however when any of us chooses to follow the path we were intended, beautiful things happen.

And so, in this week before Easter, I share the talk that means even more today than it did years ago.

"It is finished!" (NLT)

Faith in His Sacrifice for Us

“It is finished” our Savior, Jesus Christ proclaimed after hanging for hours on the cross. We know it took much effort for any words to leave his lips, however he spoke those words and shortly after, he bowed his head, took his last breath and gave up his spirit here on earth.

The Plan. As humans, so often we believe that we have the best plan in place for ourselves. Sometimes we find ourselves unable to hear the words of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. We believe that paired with our own plan that if we try to live as good Catholics, attending mass, receiving sacraments, working diligently and living in love for others, that we are living His plan. That being said, the plan we have for ourselves isn’t always the road God has in mind for us.

 We are blessed in our lives with a purpose. We must learn to listen and use His purpose for our lives for good. He has the perfect plan for each one of us, just as he had a path planned for his only son. As we travel the road in which we have planned, we may encounter something God has in store for us that we consider to be unplanned or even unwanted. We see this portrayed through Jesus’ life and should expect that God’s plan for our lives is helping us reach our goal of Salvation. It is very difficult at times to accept His plan and sometimes we find our physical body and critical mind turning away from these challenges, believing instead, our goals, dreams and realities are the right option for us. These bumps in the road are often a life changing event. These events can even become a cross in our life that draws us one step closer to our Lord and living in eternal salvation with God. When these events arise, we are called, like Jesus to accept the burdens with grace, dignity and strength. Instead of turning away we must fight our humanly urge and live the way Jesus showed us to live. We must take up our cross because in doing so we grow closer to Jesus. I am sure you are familiar with the poem Footprints, “it is in time of difficulty when I carried you” Jesus tells us.

This concept has always been difficult for me, and I expect it’s something that challenges us all. However, in the past two years, I have been blessed to deepen my own faith and understanding of my purpose in life by witnessing the beautiful faith of my young cousin Clare. Like Jesus, and so many other faithful followers, our Clare traveled a road she didn’t plan. You see, Clare was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when she was just 12 years old. Like Jesus, this child took up her cross and through her experience said “yes” whenever God asked her to follow his lead. With the grace of an adult, a faith like Jesus, she stood firm in front of certain death empowering others and teaching them how to live. Like Jesus, she saw her death as a triumph. In December, it was finished for her here on earth. Her triumph over her own battle was won as her body would succumb, but her spirit, her faith, her teachings, her legacy would linger in the lives she touched. As Angels stood before her, calming her fears, I am certain she danced joyfully into our Father’s Arms after having bore the yolk God had for her here on earth.

Her life has taught me to accept the challenges God has chosen for me and live them with grace, strength and perseverance. Live them as an opportunity to serve Him and to be more like Jesus. Earlier this month, as I began to wander away from my focus of Lent, I was once again reminded of Jesus’ “yes” for me and for each of you. I was reminded that like Jesus’ we are called to say “yes” to His plan when he chooses to use our lives as a cross. In doing so, he strengthens us, he helps us to grow in our faith and perhaps those who watch us endure may grow closer to Him as well. The words that called me back were simple but have meant so much to me. Today, I wish to share them with you.

 If these are the small crosses, we must bear to get ourselves into Eternal Rest with our Heavenly Father, we should gladly carry them. This was said to me during the week of the two-month anniversary of our family losing our beloved 14-year-old, Clare. It was spoken to me by her mother. We wept. I wondered exactly how we were to bear the burden of losing someone who taught so many so much. That was until later that day when the Holy Spirit spoke to me as I was driving and still feeling the pain of her loss. I wondered, “How GOD am I supposed to move on with the pain I have in my heart?” He answered shortly after, with a church sign that said, “If the burdens are heavy, I strengthen your shoulders”. At that moment, I thought of Jesus outstretched on the cross, in physical and emotional agony, dying for each one of us, and the pain subsided. If our Savior could say “yes” to death, to dying for each of us, then how can we not say “yes” to Him? Always. How can we not choose to remember his words “It is finished” and work to live a better life to serve God and each other?

Because of the words Jesus spoke on the cross, Clare knew and trusted in the Salvation he set before her. The salvation he promised was waiting for her, at the end of her journey which she had so bravely accepted and lived for. In her dying, she reminded us to live the life He planned for us, to accept the crosses we must bear and to say “yes” to all that He has in mind for our lives just as she did. When Jesus died for us, He reminded us that “It is finished” isn’t the end of life but the beginning of Salvation with Him.