How should we react to the shocks of life?

How should  we react to the shocks of life?
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Our life is not a bed of roses.

Rather, it is a turbulent ocean

where our life boat has to travel

towards a fixed destination,

passing through unexpected events,

some  shocking  by nature.

How do we  react to these events?

Some people react to shocks

by being shocked to the extent of

losing their  hope of reaching the destination.

How do we react?

God created us out of nothing,

not for nothing, but for a purpose.

Our ultimate purpose is God, nothing else but God.

We are to be intimately united with God,

in this world and the next.

Intimacy is the result of love;

greater the love,  greater the intimacy.

Whatever happens in our life

is an invitation to us to greater intimacy with Him.

All our life events,

even if they are shocking,

must become for us pathways

through which we can know and love God better

if only we would renew our commitment to Him at those moments.

If we are committed to serve God without any reservation,

every event in our life,

will enable us to renew our commitment,

not to draw us away from it.

Why should we commit ourselves to serve God.

The answer is very simple.

We were created only for the purpose of serving God,

serving out of love,

not servile fear.

From the moment we were created

till the very moment of leaving this world into the next,

God is with us,

directing us at every step,

with His kind Providence.

As God is always with us directing us towards our ultimate goal,

our reaction to whatever happens to us

must be one of acceptance and gratitude. 

Sometimes what happens to us may be shocking to us.

Our reaction to the shock
must be one of acceptance and gratitude.

For instance, one gentleman enters seminary with the view of becoming a priest. 

After a few years of study there, his Director tells him,

"I think it is better for you to serve God as a layman than as a priest."

These words come as a shock to him.

"Then, Father, why did He call me here?"

"God has His own plan.

His calling you here is part of His plan.

Surely God has called you here with some purpose.

The purpose has been served, I am sure.

What exactly was the purpose, we may not know.

But God knows.

But He has not changed His plan.

Both calling you into the seminary and then into the world are according to His eternal plan.

Let His will be done. "

Now what should the gentleman do?

He must accept God's will with gratitude.

There may be many shocks in our life too.

But we should not be shocked,

we must accept them with a feeling of gratitude

as they are parts of God's eternal plan.

Even Our Lady first reacted to Angel Gabriel's words with the saying,

''How shall this be done, because 1 know not man?"

at  Annunciation.

But after knowing that it was the will of God

that she would give birth to Jesus without losing her virginity ,

she surrendered herself saying,

" Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to your word."

Devotion to Our Lady must enable us

to accept whatever happens to us

with a feeling of gratitude to God.

"Thy will be done in me as it is done in Heaven."

must be our life - prayer.

Lourdu Selvam.