Photo by peatadownunder1While we met yesterday, Sister Dorothy and I discussed many things about prayer. For one who has wept because she thought she could not pray or even learn to pray as a young mother and how the way I prayed was certainly unacceptable to God as I grew older, I learned by my study this last month that, Indeed, He has always been there. And my life, as I choose to live, it can be prayer.
Reflecting on my life, I have developed a mental scrapbook. A book I now call Providential Life. I could spend days sharing with you the ways in which the Triune God has affected and shaped my life.
Though I think the story of God's providence in my life is Pulitzer prize material and how I would love to share the tales of His presence in my life, I will not. (I heard the sigh!) I would simply ask each of you to sit quietly in His presence and share once again those times when he was near at hand. Reflect on the times you were most aware of that presence and soon He will be reminding you of all the other times you have forgotten.
The key is to be quiet! This is a tool I have been working on for years. I do think the more I practice the larger my wonderful scrapbook will become. It's great when you can collaborate when preparing a book even though you and He are the only ones to see the pages in your mind. Give it a try!!
~~~~~*~~~~~
Thanks be to God!
Thanks be to God!
“The spiritual life is a long and often arduous search
ReplyDeletefor what you have already found.
You can only seek God when you have already found God.
The desire for God’s unconditional love is the fruit
of having been touched by that love.
Because finding the treasure is only the beginning of the search.”
~ Henri Nouwen, The Inner Voice of Love
That quiet is the hardest thing to find for me ~ but the most worth-while when I do find it! Bless your words of wisdom, as always, Cathy!
ReplyDeleteNicholas! Thank you for the wonderful quote by Nouwen!
ReplyDeleteLisa, yes the quiet! OOOOO
You have given me such hope... thank you!!
ReplyDeleteYou're so kind!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing such a small piece of your journey. I do like the personal stuff. I've been working on being still before the Lord just to listen for his tiny whisper. It's not easy and takes practice. At least for me anyway :0)
ReplyDeleteGood sound advice, Cathy. Really, it is only when we are quiet that God can speak. God is truly as you say a God of Providence,and the more we look for evidence of this, the more we find it - that's been my learning curve too!
ReplyDeleteIt's so true that one's whole life can be a prayer; I remember Catherine Doherty writing about that. You offered so many years to Him, raising five children and still helping with nine grandchildren; with all the joy and gratitude we see here on your blog, Cathy, I can imagine you doing all that with joy too, never begrudgingly. Now, when you offer yourself again as an associate, you receive something beautiful too - someone like Sr. Dorothy to help you and guide you with your prayerlife. It's just wonderful.
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