Creating Our Own Crosses
Have you ever taken something difficult in your life and slowly turned it into something even heavier?
In this episode, Alex explores the difference between the real crosses we are called to carry and the additional burdens we can create through comparison, expectations, resistance, and attachment to the life we think we should have.
Through a personal reflection on longing for a home in the countryside, Alex shares the image of the wooden cup and the silver cup—inspired by the wisdom of St. Francis de Sales—and asks whether we sometimes become so focused on the cup that we forget the water God is offering us.
Drawing on Scripture, Job, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the Serenity Prayer, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux, this episode explores what it means to:
Recognise the difference between a real cross and a burden we have added ourselves
Desire good things without allowing our happiness to depend on them
Work towards change while surrendering the outcome to God
Stop comparing our real lives to the imaginary lives we have created in our minds
Find peace in the circumstances we are living in now
Ask: Is this something God is asking me to carry—or something He is asking me to change?
Learn to say, “I want this, Lord—but I want You more.”
Perhaps spiritual freedom isn't getting the silver cup we hoped for. Perhaps it's learning that, whatever cup we are given, God is still good, the water is still there, and our real life is happening now.
In this episode, we reflect on:
St. Francis de Sales
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
Job
Daniel 3
Christian surrender
The Serenity Prayer
Letting go of expectations
Trusting God's will
Finding peace in the present
Until next time, stay creative in the best way—and keep making what matters most.
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Sponsors/Links
Intro/outro music by Marie Miller
This episode is sponsored by Riverside
