An Exercise in trust

This weekend I went to a Catholic Charismatic Conference to grow closer to God.  I'm sure most of the people attended for the same reason.  It was wonderful and joyous!  Healing and holy.  The speakers were inspiring and the healing service powerful. On the first night as we were praising and praying I told God that we are hungry and longing for Him, not just for this weekend but always. And for Him to speak to us, for the Holy Spirit to come to us.

 The next day I received a word from Jesus, "Come to me.  Don't be afraid to trust in me."  Later in the afternoon at the healing service Bishop Sam Jacobs lead prayers of petition for healing, naming many ailments, both mental and physical.  After each petition we would pray in the Spirit and I lifted up as many people as I could think of.  When I was to name what I wanted healed in me the word fear came to my mind and I asked for this healing.  Then I forgot all about it.  When the Bishop was finished the prayer groups were stationed around the room and I went to one where my dear friend was.  They prayed over me and I asked for healing according to God's will. Many things came to my mind and I was hopeful that these would all be healed. After the session my dear friend came up to me with an envelope saying that the Holy Spirit had asked her to give it to me.  It contained $250 in cash.  I told her I didn't need it but she insisted that the Holy Spirit wanted me to have it. 

It was an awesome Conference!!!!!  After it was over I went to visit a friend of mine who lived close to Raleigh.  When I was leaving I stopped and put a quart of oil in the van because the oil light came on.  Then stopped to get something to eat which cost around $4.70.  I started down the highway and 20 minutes later the van started acting up and then stopped completely.  It wouldnt start back up and when I tried to use my phone it had died because it wasn't taking a charge.  So there I sat with no way to contact help.    I put my hood up and stood by the car to get someone to help me but to no avail.  I had my flashers on and still no help.  I got in the car and looked in the rear-view mirror and saw people swerving toward me and then catching themselves and straightening out their cars.  It was around 4:30 pm and I was concerned that it was getting dark soon and I decided to get out and walk the mile back to the exit and find a gas station with a phone.  Nobody even honked or stopped.  I told The Lord that no matter what happens, whether it be good or bad I asked for His will and put my trust in Him completely.  The funny thing is that I wasn't afraid.  I was concerned, but not afraid.  I kept praying Hail Marys.  When I was almost at the exit a state trooper stopped and picked me up.  We got to the top of the ramp of the exit and noticed that there were no stations to be seen. We drove almost 2 miles to find a gas station.  I clearly may have been discouraged if I had walked all that way!  The van was towed and is being worked on now.  My friend who I visited came and picked me up and took me to the exit I take to go home and my husband picked me up from there.  When they totaled up the bill for the towing it came to $245 because it was Sunday!  I am so grateful to The Lord for his blessings, fidelity and gentle care.  And this exercise in trust. I pray I did grow a little bit closer!

"I trusted, even when I said:
'I am sorely afflicted!'
and when I said in my alarm:
'No man can be trusted."

How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise,
I will call on the Lord's name."
-Psalm 116

Still Praying for Patience...

A few years ago I decided to start praying for humility. It only made sense to me that God certainly wanted me to be humble and I figured that if I prayed for this surely He would grant it to me since it was a good thing to pray for. Boy did I ever ask for it! Many occasions were given me to be humbled. For instance- one day I was Sacristan and I set the church for Mass, being careful to make everything as perfect as I could. The church soon filled up with people and many greeted and talked to me. Of course a little pride began to creep in and I felt satisfied that I had done a good job and even more that people had noticed that I was the one who was doing it. As I was resting on my laurels someone came up to me and told me that I had my shirt inside-out. I looked down in embarrassment...sure enough, I had gone the whole afternoon that way. I went in the bathroom to turn it right-side-out. As I was coming out I saw Sister Barbara standing there. I told her what had happened and exclaimed "that's the last time I'm going to pray for humility!" And boy did I mean it at that moment! I guess I didn't learn my lesson from last time because more recently I began to pray for patience. I was cleaning the church a couple of Saturday mornings ago and was hurrying along trying to get done and on to our daughter's soccer game. When I was almost done little children began coming through the front doors along with their Faith Formation teachers. They had come in for First Communion practice. I asked what was going on and why I wasn't notified of this. I was frustrated and wanted to know who was responsible for this. While I was still in a tizzy a little girl got out of the line and without any words came up to me and hugged me. I was so surprised my heart just melted and I realized how unreasonable and lacking in charity I had become. I walked up to her and hugged her again and said, "thank you for showing me the love of Jesus." She asked about my daughter and I recognized that she was on her cheer leading team last fall. God has a wonderful way of pointing out to us the way we should go. I prayed for humility and God gently showed me that I was being prideful. I asked for patience and He nudged me that I was being inpatient and uncharitable. I suppose He teaches us these important lessons because like any good parent He loves us and wants what is best for us...what will bring us closer to Him and our salvation. Sometimes we listen and sometimes we have to learn the hard way if we are stubborn and hard-headed. But always God is there, listening to our prayers and guiding us. Thank You, Father.