Silent Saturday: Counting the Cost of the Cross

April 16, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

This post was first published on Saturday, April 19, 2019. The title has been changed.

“For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” ‭‭ Hebrews‬ ‭12:2-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It is Saturday of Holy Week. Good Friday has passed. Easter Sunday is yet to come. We wait in anticipation of that joyous celebration. But what did the disciples do on that Saturday after the crucifixion? They did not know that joy awaited them. They observed the Sabbath in obedience, but that day of rest from work was most likely anything but a day of rest in the mind. How could they do anything but continue to relive Friday’s horror and wonder how they would ever face, not only Sunday, but every day after?

It is in human nature to avoid the painful, but what if you and I took this Saturday to relive some of Good Friday’s pain? Might it increase our joy of the resurrection?

Know Who You Are Because of Whose You Are

April 9, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12 NIV

The YES journey is the grand adventure of life with God. We often think of our life with God as what we do FOR God, our devotional activity, our acts of service. But what God really wants us to understand is that our life WITH Him isn't really about those things. What it IS about is knowing and living in our identity in Christ. God wants you and me to be defined by our relationship with Him rather than all the other things that we look toward to tell us who we are.

How do you find out who you are? What criteria do you use? Is it what other people say or have said about you? Is it public acclamation or your accomplishments? Is it the opportunities that you may have received or not received? Perhaps you define yourself by your good behavior or religious activity. I can say that was my story. Yet, none of those things are what God uses to define us. Ephesians 1: 11 in The Message translation of the Bible says that "It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for." As you consider what defines you ask yourself if that is the measure you are using. Are you finding out who you are in Christ?

Reconciled: Finding Peace Amid Chaos

April 2, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. ' Colossians 1:19-20

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t believe that God existed. But to me He was “out there” somewhere, not personal, not close to me, not someone to call on. He was this cosmic force in charge of the universe. Untouchable. Inaccessible. He just was. Is that familiar to you?

But there came a point in my life when I began to wonder and hope that God was more than an idea or a cosmic force. I found myself feeling simply inadequate for life. My circumstances may not have seemed overwhelming to someone else, but they were to me. My emotions and thoughts were beyond my ability to process. I could not cope. Clouds of hopelessness overtook me. Although I tried, I couldn’t find within myself what I needed to survive and thrive. I needed more.

It was a night like any other as I was crossing Main Street in Geneseo, New York, heading back to my rented room at 16 Oak Street from the SUNY Geneseo campus. My soul was overwhelmed with the darkness that had encompassed me, darker than the night I was walking home in. Heavy. Hopeless. Heart-weary.

First

March 26, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything.” Colossians‬ ‭1:18‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

The gun shot is startling, but expected. Feet begin flying over the ground. A trail of dust rises behind each participant, hanging in the sun-filled air. Arms pumping. Concentration etched into every face. Each pair of squinting eyes focused on the same point: the line painted across the track and the tape stretched across the width of it. Each heart overflows with the same goal: Break the tape! Get across the line first!

First. First means so much to so many. First across the finish line means glory and honor. It means success and validation.

First loves are often among the most influential relationships of our lives.

First in birth order for centuries has meant inheritance and prominence in family position. First.

What does first mean to you, my friend? Are there times that you have delighted to be first? Maybe you were called on first to give a presentation. That is not the first we want, is it? That first means anxiety and pressure and fear of failure or humiliation. First.

Scripture declares that Jesus is first in everything. So, what does that look like in your life and mine? Is Jesus first in your everything? How might keeping Jesus first in all things make a difference in your life? First.

Who Are Your Influencers: What Doc Never Knew

March 19, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

Who has made a big impact on your life? If you had asked me that question a week ago, Doctor Robert Isgro of Geneseo, New York would probably not have been one of the first people I thought of. But when I learned earlier this week that Doctor Isgro had died, I knew that I had to make the trip to Geneseo for the funeral to honor him and his impact on my life.

Doctor Isgro, “Doc” as he was affectionately called by the many decades of Geneseo Chamber Singers, was the sun that gave the Chamber Singers life. He wasn’t the first director, but his long tenure as conductor shaped the Geneseo Chamber Singers into a high-quality college choir. Yet he did so much more than lead college students in making beautiful music. Doc shaped men and women. Doc helped us become who we were meant to be.

That’s a bold statement, I know. But when you spend an hour and a half together four days a week for several years, you become a family.

Who Commands This Chaos?

March 12, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. ' Colossians 1:17

I worked for a year as a lunchroom monitor in a middle school. Yes, I accept your pity! My shift was 3.75 hours every Monday to Friday. I left exhausted…every…single…day. The sheer amount of noise was enough to drain my energy but add to that the constant conflicts between students and each other or students with rational and reasonable rules and there was never-ending chaos. Ketchup packets are not ammunition!

I started that position in November. By February I was praying that God would open a position at the elementary school where my youngest was attending. By March, the principal of the elementary school had offered me a place, but it would mean leaving the middle school short-handed and I just didn’t feel it was the right thing to do. Oh, how I wanted to go then, but I waited until the following year. The year after that I began nine years as a full-time library aide back at the middle school. In the eleven years I worked for the school district I was NEVER as never exhausted as when I worked in the middle school lunchroom.

Chaos drains us. Have you ever noticed that? Chaos takes concentration to simply function. Chaos overwhelms our senses and makes our brains work harder. Chaos can completely consume us if we allow it to. Chaos causes us to try to regain order mentally or practically. But most of the time it is out of our control to do that. And so, exhaustion and anxiety often take over.

We live in a season of chaos, don’t we? Any sense of order has seemed to go out the window in recent years. From a pandemic to natural disasters around the world to constant conflict between nations, it seems like everything is out of control. But is it really? Can we find a way to preserve our peace?

How can you and I maintain peace when chaos seems to be in control? We must remember Who is in command of the chaos.

Why I Can Trust Him

March 5, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'…for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. ' Colossians 1:16 NLT

Spring is coming! We are just on the verge of it right now. Winter is still most definitely in control, but the calendar is pointing in Spring’s direction. There is a sense of excitement and expectation that Spring will soon arrive. Bring on the crocuses! I am definitely ready for Spring! How about you?

But how do I really know that Spring will come? I can’t see any signs of it right now. Sure, the temperatures get warmer, but then just as quickly they plummet again. Will Spring really arrive on schedule? Or, like Narnia, will we be plunged into an endless winter?

Sounds ridiculous, I know. But you and I trust that Spring will come. We don’t doubt it even though we can’t see it. We trust that Spring will win over Winter even though we can’t see that victory right now. We trust that it will come. Right?

There are things going on in your life right now that seem like a Narnian winter. They drag on with no indication that they will ever change. World events steal hope. We watch and wonder and find it hard to trust that it will turn out alright. How will that nation’s crisis affect us? What will our future look like? How do I know that I really can trust Christ with the horrific upheaval that is unfolding?

Our trust in Christ can be rooted and grounded in this: Through Christ everything was created in the visible world and in the invisible world. EVERYTHING was also created FOR Him. The invisible world as well as the visible. Do I understand it all? No. But I know that Jesus is trustworthy. I have experienced it over and over, but the Scriptures give us some clear reasons why we can trust Him.

Why is Jesus trustworthy? He understands how things work because He created them. All things…ALL THINGS…

Making The Invisible Visible

February 26, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Colossians 1:15

For a few seconds I found myself in total darkness. There I was at the sink washing the dinner dishes when the power flickered off. Not long, but long enough that the darkness was palpable. My shocked spirit started to head toward fearful, but didn’t have time before the power was, just as suddenly, back on. In those brief moments I could see absolutely nothing.

What is your first thought when the power flickers? Well, my first thought was to make sure that all the flashlights in the house had good batteries! I didn’t want to get stuck in blackness with no light source. I didn’t want to find myself taking tentative steps toward obstacles I couldn’t see. Even the smallest beam would make the invisible visible.

There are times in our lives, or even in world events, when it seems like we are suddenly plunged into blackness. Whatever light of hope there is seems to flicker and the way ahead becomes total darkness. Every path that leads out of the black seems obscured, invisible.

We struggle when we can’t see the way ahead, don’t we? Like those few seconds of panic standing at the sink, when darkness suddenly seems to take over all we want is light. We just want the invisible way ahead to become visible. What light is there to make the invisible visible in those times? We can’t run around checking batteries, can we? Or can we?

How To Manage Moments of Darkness

February 19, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:13-14 NLT

I hate the dark. When I was a kid dark meant that my imagination saw all kinds of unwanted visitors crouching in the corners of my room. The TV shows that I shouldn’t have been watching replayed in my mind and started my heart racing. Could what I saw on the screen happen to me? It was hard to rest my brain and go to sleep.

I settled on a system that settled my soul in those moments. When I made my first communion as a second grader my grandmother had given me some rosary beads. I didn’t really know what to do with them, but these rosary beads hung off the corner of my headboard and — the best part — they glowed in the dark! When I felt scared those glowing beads added light and comfort and, sometimes, I would just hold onto the cross that dangled at the end of the chain. The glowing beads didn’t give enough light to see by, but they gave me something to look at in the dark instead of letting my imagination create crouching creepy crawlies. Holding onto the cross made me feel like I wasn’t alone.

I still don’t like the dark, but there is a deeper darkness that you and I struggle to manage every day. Each one of us experiences more than physical darkness. Darkness seems to be crouching in a corner every day, just ready to pounce with every phone call, text message or email. Add world news into the mix and it might seem like darkness is ready to overtake every bit of light in the world.

Where is your darkness right now? Things may be going well. You may not feel depressed or upset. But still, you sense darkness lurking somewhere in the depths of your soul. An unresolved relationship. An unfulfilled dream. A memory of mistreatment. Darkness shows up in a myriad of forms. It’s part of living in a broken world.

How do you deal with your darkness? What do you look to when darkness takes over? What do you hold onto for comfort?

How to Thrive in the Darkness

February 12, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

“We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.” Colossians 1:11-12 NLT

It was one of the most difficult years of my life, but when I look back on the year 2004, I am filled with thanks. A loved one had entered a period of darkness and depression and there was nothing I could do to change the situation. Nothing I could do to help. It was an awful feeling.

I remember kneeling by my bed praying my heart out to God, asking Him to break through and change the situation, to bring my loved one out of darkness. I used every prayer technique I had ever learned about speaking victory and taking authority over the enemy.

And then the oddest, most unexpected thing happened. I felt God’s Spirit speaking to my heart.

“Stop.”

I was caught off guard.

“What?!”

I listened for the voice of the Spirit within me. He told me that my prayers weren’t really for my loved one, but for me. If that situation was resolved it would make my life easier. Ouch! He told me not to pray for this loved one anymore because I couldn’t pray with pure motivation. I was to pray for my own attitudes and actions, and for grace to love this person to the best of my ability during this time of shadow.

So, began a journey that lasted for the next eighteen months. The forest was dark. I couldn’t always see the path, but step by difficult step, somehow, I kept moving forward, not knowing if that track would ever end.

Perhaps you are in such a time right now, my Friend. It may seem dark. It may seem like it will always be dark. You wonder how you can ever get through this. You feel like quitting. Like this faith is just not working. Nothing makes sense.

So, what can you do? How do you survive? How do you do more than survive? How do you thrive?