This morning I went to Mass and the priest spent some time in his homily discussing God's will in our lives. He told us that we really need to spend time praying to discern what it is God wants us to do with our lives and change in our lives (I love when that happens :) Sometimes, however, it may so happen that God will ask us to do something that seems a bit out of the ordinary. We MUST, he told us, be prepared to say yes to God, even if the request seems a bit odd, or even uncomfortable. A lot may be riding on our cooperation. To illustrate, he told us the following true story:
A woman was attending a local Marian conference a few years back. The conference had many good speakers, Mass, the rosary and information about Mary, her devotions and various apparitions. Every year during the conference, there is a group of people praying throughout the day for God's will for everyone at the conference. People are encouraged to come and speak to them and pray with them if they feel that God may be trying to tell them something.
It was break time, and this aforementioned lady was sitting in a chair praying her rosary. All of a sudden, she had this overwhelming feeling that God was asking her to go up on stage and do a cartwheel. "That's ridiculous," she thought, so she continued to pray. The thought would not go away; it kept hounding her. Finally she went over to the prayer group and told them what had happened. They agreed to pray with her to see if they could help her discern God's will in this situation. After praying, they came to the conclusion that there didn't seem to be anything against her doing this, so, since it was still break time, they encouraged her to go up on stage and do a cartwheel, which she did.
In the meantime, there was a young man who was attending this same conference. He had been struggling in his faith and he went to the conference in the hopes of having some questions answered. During that same break, he sat there praying to God, begging Him to show himself. He asked the Blessed Virgin to let him know that she was real. "Lord," the man said, "If You are real and You are here, have someone do a cartwheel across the stage."
The man was stunned when he saw the woman get up and do a cartwheel across the stage. He ran to find her and ask her just what made her do that at that moment. She explained what had happened and the man was overjoyed. He kept his faith, and as Father stated, maybe even his eternal salvation.
So it just goes to show you how important it is to discern God's will for you each and every moment of your life. But it is not enough to just discern it, you MUST put it into action. Had that lady told the prayer group that she just couldn't do it, what might have happened to that young man??? Where might he be today if she had resisted Divine Grace?
I found that to be a very powerful story, especially after last week's retreat. I know what God wants me to change in my life right now. After today's homily, I think I'm going to make sure I do it!
