"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times,
if one only remembers to turn on the light."
- Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 
I am a natural lover of cute things. I share every baby Yoda meme on Facebook and have 5,000 pictures in my phone just of my cats. It was no surprise then, when I couldn’t resist the small 8” bobcat plush I found at Fox Island. While that initial excitement has passed, this special plush continues to bring me more hope and joy than most of my other physical possessions.
 
The reason I was at Fox Island when I found “Bobbie” was due to the recommendation of my therapist while I was undergoing major depression. He knew me well enough to suggest that fresh air and experiencing once more the beauty of God was exactly what I needed. For the first time in almost a year I felt peace, hope, happiness, and most importantly, I felt God. I was in awe of His beauty and what life had to offer. When I went inside the grounds building to buy a membership pass, there I fell in “love” with this little plush bobcat and bought him not just because he was cute, but because I knew I needed this small reminder that life is worth living.
 
This is true not just for me, but for all of us, especially in our spiritual lives. We need reminders of God’s presence, no matter what that reminder may be. This is why sacred paintings and crucifixes are such an important aspect of the Catholic Faith. We aren’t worshipping graven images; we are being reminded of the
beauty of God.
 
It’s also possible that we can have an entire house full of religious art and yet not feel that personal reminder of God’s love for us. After all, a picture of someone else’s cute kid is great, but it doesn’t inspire the same love that we feel when we look at a picture of our own child. It might be only one picture, one crucifix, one “something” that is our reminder of God’s love for us, but we need it.
 
For me, that spiritual reminder of God’s love is the Divine Mercy image. I was in eighth grade at a new school when I first encountered this image with the words “Jesus, I trust in You.” These words were not only exactly what I needed then, but every day since. I have clung to these words in times of darkness and joy. God even used this image to call me to World Youth Day in Poland with Pope Francis, a pilgrimage to forever impact my life. When I look at this image of Jesus, especially those words, I don’t just see another holy image; I actually experience God, His hope and mercy, through a simple gaze at this painting.
 
I can only speak for myself, but I believe it is incredibly important to find what these reminders are for you and to turn to them often in your life. They could be pictures of loved ones, Jesus, or even a plush stuffed animal found in the middle of the woods. We need them to keep us rooted when the storms come. God told us as much when Jesus said to build our house on stone, but what makes up these stones? What can we use as reminders and inspirations of hope when our lives become difficult?
 
Prayer, Scripture, the Rosary, Mass, etc. are the weapons we pick up for these battles we face, but what encourages us to draw these weapons to arms? It is easy to fall into the temptations of the devil. The temptations to despair, blame God, or turn away entirely. Jesus guarantees as much as He prepared us through His own temptations in the desert.
 
God knows we are physical beings, and this is why He gives us our possessions, these reminders, not for the usage of drawing us away from God, but to draw us towards Him. All possessions are inherently good, but how we use them depends on where they direct us. Are we directed towards God or toward ourselves? God knows we need these reminders, so if you can’t think of a special image or object that brings you hope, ask for one. God will provide. In life, we are guaranteed to suffer, but how we suffer matters. I truly hope you can find something in your life that brings you to life, to the face of God, when our lives
become difficult. Even if it is a just a stuffed cat.