These thoughts came to me as I sat in church before early
morning mass today:
Each morning and evening I spend time in a church or chapel,
time in the presence of God. I KNOW He
is there, in the quiet. Often, in varied
ways, I hear Him speak to my soul. Oh, I
am no saint, but I have reached --- after many, many years --- a degree of
spiritual progress. (At some point along
the way I suspect God sighed: Finally!).
I wish everyone could feel what I feel, especially on those days when,
in sorrow, I feel almost like a child in its mother’s arms, as she softly sings
and tells my soul: “There, there.
Everything will be alright.” And
in that comfortable feeling, I trust it will.
I wish everyone could feel that in their sorrows, but it has
been a long journey for me to get to this point. It would be more than a miracle if everyone I
pray for could feel this way at this moment; we are made for our life to be a
journey, in His way, along His paths, not ours. So, what CAN one do, who is not
so far along the path, and yearns to feel His comfort? This morning it came to me that they can go
for a walk.
A walk outdoors, slowly taking in God’s beautiful creation,
is a deliberate action anyone can take.
In the quiet, listen to the birds singing, see the beauty in the trees
and waters, feel the freshness in the air, and KNOW: God is here too, present
in His creation. Look up at the sky, and
on a sunny day feel the warmth that feeds the plants, photosynthesis making
them grow, or on a rainy day, see the waters that cause dormant seeds to
sprout, growing like a baby in its mother’s womb. God is in His creation, and in the quiet walk
you can talk to Him, and hear Him speak to you.
He’s always there, waiting, whether in the chapel, I attend
--- His earthly home, or in the countryside --- His garden. He is there.
Let me tell you about someone I know, who took a walk.
A little over a year ago, I crossed paths with a woman I
hadn’t seen in years. In a parking lot
we were suddenly face to face, and then she knew, and then I knew, this was not
a chance meeting. (I don’t believe in
coincidences.) She asked me to call her;
I went to her house, and then we went for a walk.
We began our walk with prayer --- we wanted God to be part
of this conversation --- and then she told me of the disasters in her
life: Maxed out in debts, facing bankruptcy,
the loss of her children and her house, her divorce lawyer suggested she give
in to her abusive husband’s demands. It
was a dark time, when our paths crossed and we went for that walk, and a talk
with God.
Now it is a year later, and last night she called me again.
She was out on a walk again, talking with God, when her
phone rang. She had received a large tax
refund and earlier this week called one of the banks she was in debt to: “I
have no savings; I have an old car and an old house, and five young
children. I don’t know what emergencies
I’ll be facing this year, but I have this tax-refund check in my hand. Will you accept it in payment for what I owe?” And while she was out walking last night the
bank had called her back, accepting her offer.
One-by-one, she had called all the credit card companies, and this was
the last to settle. “Tom, I had to call
you; I feel almost like I have risen from the dead! I did not think this day was possible! Praise God!”
And she cried tears of joy as she walked along. With God, all things are possible.
As I sat in church this morning, these thoughts swept over
me, and the sun peeked through the cloudy morn and suddenly there was a blaze
of red on all the clouds, lighting up the large church window in front of
me. It was totally awesome; you could
see no more dark clouds, only shades of red.
And then I glanced down and read the Morning Prayer open in front of me,
reading the words I’ve read a thousand times --- but reading them today for the
first time:
In the tender compassion of God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and guide our feet into the way of peace.
the dawn from on high shall break upon us
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and guide our feet into the way of peace.
He is risen, indeed.
He is risen indeed!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experiences, I love reading and witnessing God at work in your life.
I was re-reading some of my posts and I came across this song and I thought I would share it with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJdbaxqAlzY
Here is the translation:
MADRE OYEME
Madre óyeme, mi plegaria es un grito en la noche
Madre guÃame en la noche de mi juventud
Madre sálvame, mil peligros acechan mi vida
Madre lléname, de esperanza, de amor y de fe.
Madre guÃame, en las sombras no encuentro el camino
Madre llévame, que a tu lado feliz estaré
Madre una flor, una flor con espinas es bella
Madre un amor, un amor que ha empezado a nacer
Madre sonreÃr, sonreÃr aunque llore en el alma
Madre construir, caminar aunque vuelva a caer.
Madre solo soy el anhelo y la carne que lucha
Madre tuyo soy, en tus manos me vengo a poner
Madre óyeme, mi plegaria es un grito en la noche
Madre guÃame en la noche de mi juventud.
Also, I keep looking for a contact email on your website. Do you have one? I would love to email you and tell you about how I got to your blog.
I forgot to mention that I found this song through no coincidence. I had the privilege of going to daily Mass at this little parish a couple of years ago. The Church was made up of elderly Hispanic people and there was no music. The man next to me started singing this song with such love, it was beautiful. I was so moved and to this day I pray that my children will have this kind of love for Our Lord and our Blessed Mother.
ReplyDeleteUh, thanks for the translation, but I don't speak Spanish. Re my email, I think it is somewhere on my profile page, because I do get emails from people who found it there, but at any rate it is: thomassal@peoplepc.com. Always happy to hear from friends.
ReplyDelete(And I'll do a translate on that song from one of the translation sites ---:-) )
Thank you for the email and I'm sorry, I meant to say the lyrics. Here is the translation:
DeleteMother hear me, my prayer is a scream in the night
Mother guide me in the night of my youth
Mother save me, a thousand dangers lurk my life
Mother fill me with hope, love and faith.
Mother guide me, in the shadows I can not find the way
Mother take me, I'll be happy by your side
Mother a flower, a flower with thorns is beautiful
Mother a love, a love that has begun to be born
Mother smile, smile even though she cries in the soul
Mother build, walk even if she falls again.
Mother I am only the longing and the flesh that fights
Mother of yours I am, in your hands I come to put
Mother hear me, my prayer is a scream in the night
Mother guide me on the night of my youth.