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Lord, I want to be happy and cheerful. Today I am having trouble loving the Cross in my life. Let me tell you about it so you can help me see it truthfully… I want to love the life you’ve given me, so stop me if I start to complain while I tell the story.

Do I complain a lot? Do I feel sorry for myself? When I suffer, it cuts deep. You know what that’s like. What can I do so those wounds don’t get infected, so your love flows through my veins even when it hurts? How did you do it?

I want to be more cheerful. Recently I’ve felt like I just let the sadness take over, but I want to change that. I want to embrace my Cross. Here is something I’m having trouble giving over to you…

Tell me, Lord, what do you love about my life? I don’t want to only tell you about the things that are making me sad. Here are some good things that have happened recently… Thank you for these moments.

How can I hold on to the good things? Do I have the habit of thanking you when things go well?

The next step is harder, because the saints recommend thanking you when things go badly too: “If things go well, let us rejoice, blessing God who makes them prosper. And if they go badly? Let us rejoice, blessing God who allows us to share in the sweetness of his Cross” (The Way, no. 658). Do I do that? Are you really beside me when I’m carrying the Cross?