Faultless? That’s You!

April 30, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. ' Colossians 1:22

Have you ever heard the term “analysis paralysis”? Just in case you haven’t, it means analyzing a problem so thoroughly that you never make a decision. I can fall into this trap. In my attempt to make the best possible decision I try to make sure that I have examined all possible decisions. “ALL possible decisions” isn’t really the best way to go, is it? Could it be possible that pondering all the possibilities isn’t about deciding at all? Could it be that analyzing all angles is really an avoidance tactic? A way to stall actually deciding? Um…maybe…I’ll have to ponder that.

Fear of making a mistake has been one of the issues that has often paralyzed me. For most of my life I wasn’t aware of it, but I would say that fear of making a mistake is probably my number one fear. The only problem is that there is no way to avoid making mistakes. It’s part of the human experience, part of living in a fallen, imperfect world. You and I will make mistakes and we can’t let that fear be the controlling factor in our lives.

So, what do we do about it? How do we get past fear of making mistakes? How do we overcome the lie that making a mistake is an indication that we are not worthy of love? We remember that in Jesus we are faultless.

When You Don't Know Why

April 23, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:21-26

So many tragedies. Watch the news for two minutes. Look around at the lives of your friends and acquaintances. Look back over your own life. No matter how hard we try we can't avoid the pain of life in a broken world. We hurt for others. We hurt for ourselves. How do we handle it? How do YOU handle it?

Most of us are not self-aware enough to recognize our own self-protective strategies. We can look at someone else and see how they are turning to work, or addiction, or TV, or shopping, or food, or anything else to avoid their pain. Yet, we don't recognize what we do to avoid dealing with the biggest of questions: Why does God allow pain, in my life and the lives of those around me, and why doesn't He stop it when He can?

I can't answer that question. Oh, I can give you answers. I've done it many times in the past. That is part of my self-protective strategy. If I can explain my pain, or someone else's, to some extent, if I can convince myself that in some way it makes sense, then it becomes easier for me to deal with. But it doesn't really answer the question of why God allows it. It just avoids truthfully bringing the question to God. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to make sense of tragedy, it just doesn't make any sense at all.

So then, how do we handle this huge question of pain and tragedy? How do we acknowledge the question we can't truly answer and still maintain our faith? How do we keep saying YES to a God who sometimes allows hurt to come to us and those around us and doesn't give us satisfactory explanations?

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?