“Don’t Fret He Does See Us!”
Poor Charlie Brown! The often-downcast character in the Peanuts comic strip. Charlie seems to step from one crisis to another carrying the world on his shoulders. In a recent strip, a most distraught Charlie Brown is lying under a huge tree with his head resting in his hands. In the bubble a voice is saying: “Don’t fret Charlie Brown. God sees you, he realizes who you are. He has a plan for you, and it’s very good.”
Reading these words reminds me that God never forgets our name, always sees us, and knows where we are. Why wouldn’t he? God loves us, accompanies us on our journey to him, and helps us in all the ways that only God can. God did not create us to fail. God created us to succeed. As my mom used to say: God works for us even when we, ourselves, stop working! After Jesus suffered to get us this far, why would he give up so easily now with only years to go “as we live our earthly life.”
Success for God is not simply going home from the Olympics with a gold medal or climbing to the top of the Himalayas and planting a flag or even holding the winning ticket of this week’s million-dollar lottery. Success for both Jesus and his father is the same. It is faithfulness which translates as “hanging tough” with God because we believe no matter whether the times are bright and sunny, or cloudy and dark, God has our back. He is presently accompanying us through luscious green fields or hazardous pathways. Success is knowing this despite the odds and trusting the Scriptures which tell us Jesus is in our midst.
God loves us and will do anything for us even if we doubt, he can’t or believe we don’t deserve his help. God’s efforts flow with a love filled with goodness. Fr. Jim Martin, S.J., reminds us that God’s love does not depend on us or how good or significant we are. God ‘s love depends solely on God’s desire for us. This alone should encourage us to love God in return.
Since love is God’s driving force, hatred and evil disappear in its wake. God’s love can revitalize the hardest of hearts. When we say we’re sorry in any way that displays sincerity, Jesus whispers: I accept. Welcome home!
This should comfort us to believe firmly that God truly answers all prayers every day. What God may not do is answer prayers exactly the way we want them answered. Why? Because he knows better what we need, which isn’t always what we are requesting. Trust helps us believe that God always acts in our best interests. Why? Often it is something we would never have thought ourselves.
God loves us equally and the same every day. Yet, God sees Charlie Brown and everyone uniquely, personally, and intimately. While understanding that each of us may face similar challenges and possess similar happy moments, our loving God is both general and specific depending on what we may need in each moment.
Remember praying takes patience too. Even though we may not receive what we pray for the first time, we cannot be Charlie Brown who walks away or gives up. That’s something God never does. Have you ever wondered why God stays so patient with us? Unlike Charlie Brown, we believe God does see, know , love , and has a plan for each of us.
Above all, we believe God wants us in heaven. While God’s ways are not our ways, and can be mysterious, Jesus reminds us that already “everything I have is yours.” What further invitation do we need?
