A Small Lesson in Faith and Trust

The other night I went to our adoration hour with a heavy heart. I had a lot on my mind and I was a bit anxious, both about certain events as well as the weather. I have noticed that, as I age, I get more and more anxious about being out in bad weather. I glanced at the lightning in the distance and noticed the still, humid air and wondered if it would hold off until I got home again.

I entered the monastery and began to pray the rosary. Of course, one of my first prayer requests was that it wouldn't rain until I got home :) I finished my rosary and moved on to my other night prayers and was feeling relatively at ease. At some point I convinced myself that I could be in no better place during a tornado than in front of the Eucharist!

After finishing my prayers, I set my book down, ready to move on to the next item on my "agenda" when I felt this sudden urge to leave. I wasn't even 3/4 of the way into my hour, but I don't think I could have stayed if I wanted to. I jumped up, let the nuns know I was leaving early, got in the car and raced home with one eye on the road and the other on the lightning.

After greeting my somewhat surprised husband, I heard the first drops of rain hit the window. Within five minutes of entering the house, we had a big tree limb down in the front yard and hail was pounding on the windows so hard we were afraid they were going to break.

As I sat in the basement with my family, I pondered the events of the past 1/2 hour to see what God was trying to tell me. Here is what I thought...

~ If God kicks you out of a pew, don't argue. Really, that is what it felt like. One minute I was sitting in peace, the next I was standing up moving for the door. On the way home I kept telling myself what a wimp I am for being so frightened of driving in storms, but once I got home and realized what I could have been out in, I was incredibly thankful that God used the force He had!

~ I went to adoration with many worries on my heart - some big, some small. I realized that if He took the time to make sure I got home before it rained, thus saving me from a lot of anxiety and who knows what else, then why should I be worried about the big stuff? I know this; there have been plenty of lessons in our life on just this topic, but every once in awhile I guess I need to be reminded of it in a concrete way.

~ Trust in the Lord! Keep close to Him through prayer and the Sacraments. Always try to do His Will, because (as I heard Mark Mallet say today) the safest place to be is in the Will of the Lord.

Thanks, God, for protecting me!