Rhyme and Reason

Living in a house with teenagers, I’m accustomed to the raucous and random events. Add to that the fact that I work in a high school, and I have learned not to be too surprised by jokes, comments, or acts, shall we say, lacking some maturity.

I walked into my kitchen recently and found this on the counter:

Jesus with Cheez-Its

Now this teenage display didn’t necessarily lack maturity. I feel it deserved points for creativity, humor and well, Jesus.

I don’t really know all the details about the recent phenomenon of pairing celebrities with rhyming objects, but this “Rhyme without Reason” found in my kitchen - WITH JESUS - ranked as the best pairing I’ve seen by far. If you’re curious about this creative and funny trend like me, you’ll be enlightened to learn that the phrase "no rhyme or reason" dates all the way back to the 15th century. And guess who used the phrase to describe things lacking logic or sense? St. Thomas More and William Shakespeare. The former a martyr for our Church, and the latter having Catholic ties in his family and literary works that include Catholic themes.

Not long after encountering this funny rhyme on my kitchen counter, a valuable lesson in reason was presented to me. It occurred during my women’s small group on the Gospel of John. When we pray, we should feed our faith and not our fear. How often do I come to God and truly believe that He hears me? If I believe that He hears me, then I should also have confidence that God is ready to come to my assistance. A proper response to God’s help is gratitude. Maybe instead of asking God for the same request over and over, which can lead to feeding my fear if the request isn’t resolved or made, I could instead thank Him for the answer that He already has in motion. He’s already taking care of things, and I can feed my faith and assurance that God’s providence will prevail. 

Blessed Solanus Casey said, “Thank God ahead of time.” It’s reasonable to think that if I thank God for the work He is doing, my faith will increase. We may not always see the work He is doing, but we have faith that God is always working. In contrast, if I continue to ask for a specific request over and over, my doubt and fear may be fed because I’m focusing on what is still not fixed instead of what God has already done and continues to do in this very moment.

There is a rhyme and a reason in this week’s reflection. :) 

May our prayer feed our faith and not our fear. And may our Cheez-Its always have Jesus.