Better Late Than Never

By Janice Nichols

Better Late than Never is filled with enthusiastic words of faith, hope, and encouragement. It is meant to help you wake up hopeful and not helpless; to wake up fulfilled and not frustrated. God created all people with a burning desire for happiness and fulfillment. If you are dissatisfied with life or know you have room for improvement and long to be a better person but are not sure what to do, read this book. If you are struggling with forgiving others or possibly forgiving yourself, struggle with issues of anger, patience, or self-image, then read this book and become saturated in God's magnificent love. It is truly better late than never! This book serves as a guide that helps you to reflect on where you have been and where you are going. It offers hope for readers as it serves as a reminder that God lovingly desires only that you trust in him and grow closer to him. There are reflection exercises at the end of each chapter that are designed to help you reflect on your daily life and methodically improve the way you act and react for your own happiness and for those around you, but ultimately for the glory of God. You will discover this book is filled with messages, some instructional, some thought-provoking, but always a message of encouragement. Many who read Better Late Than Never, including those who believe they are already living faithful Christian lives, often say they have been inspired by this book and are more enthusiastic about the possibility of becoming a better version of themselves. Why not you too? It's better late than never!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9781641147231

Book preview

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Better Late Than Never

Janice L. Nichols

ISBN 978-1-64114-722-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64114-723-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2018 by Janice L. Nichols

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Preview for Better Late than Never

For most of us, following

Christ requires a change of heart, sometimes on a daily basis. The cover depicts an EKG, a medical exam to determine cardiac status and a patient’s need for further medical attention. Like our hearts of flesh, our spiritual hearts sometimes need to be examined as well. Whether a physical, emotional or spiritual healing, it is always Better Late than Never.

The intent of Better Late than Never is to encourage readers to grow closer to Jesus Christ with the realization that it is never too late to live our lives for the glory of God. It is also a reminder that God knows and loves us even though we are not perfect and will never be so. What does God want from you? Are you called to serve? How can you best serve God? Is it possible to have a close relationship with God or is he more of a concept? How well do you pray? How does God speak to us? Do we ignore his Word? This is a book to encourage people to take small but consistent steps to grow in their spiritual lives. Readers might not identify with every chapter, but hopefully each reader will become more aware of their spiritual lives, take time to reflect on where they have been and are going, and finally become enthusiastic and confident that God lovingly wants to see each and every one of us grow closer to him and is always ready to give us every spiritual aid we need!

Introduction

Over the years, many people

have encouraged me to assemble my writings into a book for others to read. I want to especially thank my husband, Nick, who has been an enthusiastic supporter, giving me the courage to share my writings and believing that others would find them as meaningful as he. Thank you, Nick. You are a blessing. My sincerest thanks is also extended to Margaret, a longtime friend who is incredibly thorough, honest, and simply invaluable to me. Many thanks must also go to a beautiful lady, Leona Choy, who has no idea how much of an impact she had in my decision to write this book. Leona is a prolific writer and poet who has become a spiritual mentor to many. Her faith and love of Christ is immeasurable as she never fails to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in all she does. She is a powerful witness in both her thoughts and words. Thank you, Leona. You helped me trust God and take this leap forward. Finally, I would also like to express my sincerest gratitude to Fr. Eric Hill, who was kind enough to read with a critical eye regarding spiritual correctness. As an incredibly busy pastor of an enormous and vibrant church in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, his was a gift of time and generosity beyond measure.

My name is Jan Nichols, and I am just an ordinary woman with many of the same struggles and insecurities that other women have. My purpose in writing this book is to give hope, a hope that leads to peace and joy for adults, young and old, male and female. For several years, my husband and I were privileged to serve as ministry leaders of Catholics Returning Home (CRH). When writing each chapter, a topic was selected that, at one time or another, would be relevant to one or more of our CRH participants. Each chapter is written for reflection with thoughts for meditation that are included at the end of each chapter. Although each chapter deals with separate topics, I have attempted to order them in a way that will aid the reader in reflecting on one’s lifestyle, values, and faith.

I have always considered myself a person with a strong faith and love of Jesus Christ. Yet when I reflect on my spiritual life, I see times when it was actually rather stagnant; life was satisfying and uncomplicated. Then there came a time when life’s complicated problems developed into a small whirlpool, nothing that I thought I couldn’t handle myself, until the hole became so deep that I began to fear I might drown in a sea of emotion. Everything was swirling around at a rapidly dangerous rate, and I had nothing to hold on to for support, or at least at that time, I believed there was nothing supporting me. It was only after the turmoil ended that I began to become aware of how I survived. I never lost faith. Faith provided the support at a time for me when I was sinking into a hole of desperation. There are some who believe that faith is not enough, and I am one of them. We need hope. A priest once told me that even Judas had faith. After Christ died, Judas was a believer. Judas finally believed that Jesus was the Son of God, but he despaired, believing he could never be forgiven by God, because he had no hope. Hope is also a gift from God. God gave me the gift of hope in Him that I would survive and I did.

About this time, my husband and I became active members of a charismatic prayer group that opened the door to Scripture reading and honest self-reflection. After years of thinking that we knew all that we needed to know to be good practicing Catholics, we discovered how impersonal our relationship with Christ really was. We spent years in prayer groups and other ministries, slowly growing closer to God. We found ourselves in a leadership position with Catholics Returning Home. Catholics Returning Home includes people from all walks of life, young adults to the elderly, working professionals, those without much education, the employed and unemployed, those with relatively strong faiths but whose catechesis is lacking to others who are hesitant and unsure of faith and religion. God also provided another opportunity, which I quickly seized, and that was the opportunity to begin classes and receive my Certificate of Ecclesial Ministry from Springhill College. The classes made me acutely aware of how little I actually knew and know. The church is rich with knowledge and traditions that can be studied and deciphered far past my lifetime. And that leads to the pressing question: Who do I think I am to write a book such as this? The answer is rather simple. On my own, I am nothing, but I believe that the Holy Spirit inspired many of the thoughts in this book.

I do use Scripture to substantiate my writings. How much time should I spend in prayer? Does justified anger mean that it is not necessary to forgive? We are told to show mercy to the poor. Is it necessary for the poor to love those that have more? The answers are found in Scripture although my interpretations may be somewhat different or make one take pause. It may be a different way of seeing the same verse or passage that you’ve read or heard many times. Better Late than Never may seem challenging to some readers, but if one intends to seek God and continue to grow spiritually as God wills, then like the vine and the branches parable, we will eventually need pruning if we are to be shaped into a beautiful child of God. The paradox is that when we meet and accept God’s challenge to be pruned and shaped in order to grow and blossom, we discover immense joy.

The purpose of the book is to bring inspiration to others and to help people view the world through a spiritual lens without fear and anxiety. Our secular lenses help us to see our surroundings clearly. When we live our lives so that we begin to see through proper spiritual lenses, the path to salvation not only becomes clearer but our understanding of salvation is now far more beautiful and desirable. It becomes a path that we actually choose to follow. Always remember that it is better late than never. As we follow the path that leads closer to Christ, our temporal lives become less important; my yoke is easy and the burden light, and our spiritual lives become joyful and exciting as we long to enjoy eternal life with Christ and our loved ones.

I am just a servant and instrument of Christ. If the goal of this book is accomplished, then God has been honored and His will has been done!

1

Are You Ready for the Solid Food of Spirituality?

The Lord remembered us in our misery.

God’s love endures forever;

Freed us from our foes,

God’s love endures forever;

And gives food to all flesh,

God’s love endures forever.

—Psalm 136: 23-25

In the book of Hebrews,

St. Paul writes that as