Have you ever gone through something that made you want to turn around and walk away from the problem, perhaps from your life, or maybe even from God? Some things challenge us so much that we intuitively revolt against them. Sometimes we are faced with something so distressing that it makes us doubt what we had believed to be true or doubt a decision we had made.
In today’s Gospel, many of Jesus’ followers were so challenged by His teaching that they did walk away. They could not reconcile what they believed with what they were hearing from Him, so they gave up.
Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Do you also want to leave?” The disciples were confused too and did not know what to make of Jesus’ claim, but they knew they needed to see Him through to the end. They knew Him too well and had seen and heard enough that they could not abandon Him. I love Peter’s answer: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
There was a night this past summer when I was again at a breaking point. Life had been too heavy for too long, and many things were pressing in on me. Needing to clear my head, I ran out the door into the dark garage and backed the car down the driveway. Though I did not feel like praying and tried to avoid it, I ended up exactly where I knew I would: sitting in the car outside church.
Knowing Jesus was just beyond the wall of the church building, I repeated Peter’s words, “Lord, to whom shall I go? You have the words of eternal life.” I could not deny the difficulty I was being asked to bear, but the difficulty did not erase the truth that Jesus is God and that He was right there with me, guiding me through this time.
To whom shall I go? To Jesus, always back to Jesus. To His arms, to His redeeming power, to His love and mercy. Like Peter and the apostles, I have experienced and seen enough that I have come to believe He is the Holy One of God and I cannot live my life without Him.
I wish I could say things became better immediately after that. They did not. I am continuing to live my brokenness in a very real way and continuing to face challenges I am not equipped to handle. But I continue to do my best to walk with Jesus because I know I cannot leave Him.
To whom shall we go? In good times and in bad, Jesus is Lord, and He has the words of eternal life. Even in difficult times, by His side is the best place to be.
¿Alguna vez has pasado por algo que te hizo querer dar la media vuelta y alejarte del problema, tal vez de tu vida, o tal vez incluso de Dios? Algunas cosas nos desafían tanto que intuitivamente nos rebelamos contra ellas. A veces nos enfrentamos a algo tan angustiante que nos hace dudar de lo que habíamos creído que era cierto o dudar de una decisión que habíamos tomado.
En el Evangelio de hoy, muchos de los seguidores de Jesús se sintieron tan desafiados por su enseñanza que se alejaron. No podían conciliar lo que creían con lo que escuchaban de Él, así que se dieron por vencidos.
Entonces Jesús preguntó a los Doce: “¿También ustedes quieren dejarme?” Los discípulos también estaban confundidos y no sabían qué hacer con la afirmación de Jesús, pero sabían que debían acompañarlo hasta el final. Lo conocían demasiado bien y habían visto y oído lo suficiente como para no abandonarlo. Me encanta la respuesta de Pedro: “Señor, ¿a quién iremos? Tú tienes palabras de vida eterna; y nosotros creemos y sabemos que tú eres el Santo de Dios”.
Hubo una noche el verano pasado cuando ya no podía más. La vida había sido demasiado pesada durante demasiado tiempo y muchas cosas me presionaban. Con necesidad de aclarar mi mente, salí corriendo por la puerta hacia el garaje oscuro y retrocedí el carro. Aunque no tenía ganas de rezar e intenté evitarlo, terminé exactamente donde sabía que estaría: sentada en el carro afuera de la iglesia.
Sabiendo que Jesús estaba justo detrás de la pared del edificio de la iglesia, repetí las palabras de Pedro: “Señor, ¿a quién iré? Tú tienes palabras de vida eterna”. No podía negar la dificultad que se me pedía que soportara, pero la dificultad no borró la verdad de que Jesús es Dios y que Él estaba allí conmigo, guiándome a través de este momento.
¿A quién iré? A Jesús, siempre es volver a Jesús. A sus brazos, a su poder redentor, a su amor y misericordia. Al igual que Pedro y los apóstoles, he experimentado y visto lo suficiente como para llegar a creer que Él es el Santo de Dios y que no puedo vivir mi vida sin Él.
Me gustaría poder decir que las cosas mejoraron inmediatamente después de eso, pero no fue así. Soy una persona quebrantada y sigo viviendo esa realidad de una forma muy real. Sigo enfrentando desafíos para los que no estoy preparada. Pero sigo poniendo mi mejor esfuerzo para caminar con Jesús porque sé que no puedo dejarlo.
¿A quién iremos? En los buenos y en los malos tiempos, Jesús es el Señor y tiene palabras de vida eterna. Incluso en tiempos difíciles, a su lado es el mejor lugar que podemos estar.
Kimberly Andrich writes from the perspective of having a hidden, chronic illness and experiencing a deep, continuous conversion through being yoked to Jesus in the day-to-day trials and joys of life. She is a wife, mother of 5, and daughter of the King. Kimberly also writes for Catholicmom.com and on fallingonhisgrace.substack.com.
Feature Image Credit: Kar3nt, pixabay.com/illustrations/ai-generated-jesus-savior-people-8664178/
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
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