Mea Culpa!

     “God, give me the Lent I need, not necessarily the Lent I want,” was my prayer on Ash Wednesday. God IS faithful; He answered my prayer. He is using this time to show me how to conquer the flaws with which I struggle. Weeks before Lent God began to teach me lessons in faith and trust. As I entered the desert of Lent, He has allowed circumstances in my life to unfold to give me practice in these areas.

     “Oh, that today you would hear His voice, harden not your hearts” (Psalm 95:7b).

"AH HA"

    “God gives us the vision, then He takes us down to the valley to batter us into the shape of the vision, and it is in the valley that so many of us faint and give way. Every vision will be made real if we have patience.”                 
                                                                                               Oswald Chambers


    “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).

     There have been many times in my life when God has given me the vision: the ability to see the solution to a struggle I could not overcome. Along with this revelation, comes a great confidence in God and His willingness to help me overcome myself and my struggle. It is what we call an “ah ha” moment, when life’s problems seem to be surmountable. “Nothing will be impossible with God”   (Lk 1:37).

You Are Mine

     It was late in the afternoon, my last day of retreat, when I decided to continue the tradition my sister Rachel and I had begun years ago. Our routine included a change of clothing – dressing up in something special -- which was symbolic of the change that had occurred spiritually within.

     Our tradition was also, our way of making the last evening special; a way to thank God for all the graces and insights with which we had been showered; a time to breathe in God’s love and bask in the still and quiet of the retreat house, one last evening.