A gift

Last week, I was the recipient of something unexpected. It was also something hoped for, something wanted.  But I had prepared myself as best I could to be without. This preparation became an ache inside my soul. I knew I had to do this.  I did everything I could to be ready for this hurt; a hurt that did not come. 

You see, I have expected more than I could have in the past.  I have viewed myself as deserving, when actually I had something to learn. And so, when I received it without expectation it became.... the best gift of all....I am so grateful to God!

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Leo F. Buscaglia

Meditation: Being Perfect as the Father is Perfect

God's embrace, God's love makes holy.  We can only allow, receive and do everything we can to remove obstacles, to be attentive to God's will--which is always intent on our good, on making us capable of receiving him:

We must become aware that God dwells within us and do everything with him, then we are never commonplace even when performing the most ordinary tasks, for we do not live in these things, we go beyond them.  A supernatural soul never deals with natural causes but with God alone. (Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity)

Every human person is a unique creation of love and has his or her irreplaceable function within God's glorious plan of love.  There is no such thing as competition; it is senseless to compare this one with that.  Each vocation is totally unique; and temperament, circumstances, all the elements that go to make up my life are directed toward the shaping of that particular "form" which is to receive God's love and express his beauty in a way unique to itself, thus becoming a living praise of the glory of his self-bestowing love: "Each incident, each event, each suffering as well as each joy is a sacrament that gives God to it" (Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity)
Sr. Ruth Burrows O.C.D.

The beginnings

 The Benedictine life in spirituality is committed to seeking Christ in all things.   It is a life of prayer, of study and of service; of obedience and stability. I am a third order Benedictine sister, so I live life in the world not in a convent.  I am still married to my husband but he has had to accept some pretty difficult things, and he has had to go through some very hard times as I have had to adjust to Benedictine daily routine and sacrifice. I work in an office every day.  I break for prayer every 3 hours: I pray the Daily Office; Liturgy of Hours.  I have responsibilities assigned to me and I Love this life.  However, it is not easy!!!

I have always been in Love with Jesus. I Love Worship and prayer, and I try to Live my Life as Christ Lived His life. I was more than just a little curious as a high school girl about the convent close by.  Living in Europe, I sought out connection with The Lord more deeply because I was far from home, sometimes in circumstances that were very difficult.  The church and those I found there in the many countries I lived in saved me, and gave me stability and a feeling of belonging and safety.  And it was Jesus who saved me in the very difficult times, with the loneliness and absence of family while living and studying overseas in Eastern Europe.  Looking back...I see the plans for me:  The Pathway, of that time. I can also see how the Pathway is connected to the recent past!  Stunning to see how circumstances come together for GOOD!  Exciting to see how the original pathway brought people into my life....and sad to see others go from my life, but in many cases I understand why.  To be able to see the path develop and come into the present time and to actually be able to see how it is all connected....is incredible!

There were some years when I walked away from Jesus.   I went through Years of disappointment in clergy who had sinned dreadfully.  I became a person who I didnt like during that time; I truly lost The Lord from my life as I completely turned away. 

A shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day  (Ezekiel 34:12) 

 A crisis in my life made me realize that at that time I had no church, no member of clergy to turn to.  My heart and soul were far away from a Life in Christ! It was a member of clergy from a friend's church who came to me.  He taught me a lesson about faith that changed my life and made me see where I had taken the wrong turn.
And he led me to my priest today, in my own church! My life is now rich in the Lord. I Look back to a day in our parish office with my priest today, sitting together and joking when I said "Well, I could become a NUN!!"  And he laughed.  Not too many years later, I am a vowed Benedictine Sister...

 God's plans for us unfold and one person who comes into our lives or one experience leads to the next and the next.  ALL things work together for Good to fulfill the plans and the purpose God has for each of us. (Romans 8:28) Dreadful things that happen also have a purpose and are part of the plan that will lead to the next Pathway.

 Pathways is the title of  my Blog.
Day by Day, each day is part of God's plan for us.  We cannot and should not try to go back, and we cannot and should not rush forward. Every day contains circumstances and prayerful choices that lead us on. The time is now to walk in the steps God has planned for us to take.  I pray that what I share here will inspire readers to get closer in touch with The Lord and His plan for your life.