Is God Trying To Say Something?

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Theophilus76

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I’ve been longing to enter full communion for most of this calendar year. I’ve experienced many ups and downs; hurdles and barriers. Finally, my RCIA director discerned that I was indeed ready for the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend.

Why would God send a major ice storm to prevent my first confession (chapel not even open), and subsequent postponement of the Confirmation Mass I was supposed to attend?

First, I was going to take my wife’s car (Yukon) for it’s safety, but on Friday the tire went flat. Next, on Saturday morning, I had no choice but to chisel my Mustang out of the ice block it was in. I kept saying to God, “Do you see me? Do you see how hard I’m working to be united with your church, the one you established?” Next, I get all the way into town only to learn confession will not occur today. My RCIA director said not to worry. Father would take my confession right before Mass the next day. Finally, I get a call saying Confirmation is not happening, and a special dispensation was issues removing the obligation to attend.

I’m really trying to figure out why God would allow this. It’s got me shaken up quite a bit. I’m inclined postpone confirmation until I learn God’s reason for sending an ice storm to prevent my joining.
 
What you’re effectively saying is that you think the entire ice storm, flat tire, and ice block was engineered just to stop you from attending confession? How many other people do you think had their plans stuffed up the same day for much the same reason?

You’ve been given a dispensation. Just leave it at that, stop being so impatient, and realise that God’s going to be there tomorrow, next week, next year, next century, next millennia.

You’re applying your human time frame to Him. He’s really not that worried about it, and He knows your sincere intention. You’ve had a minor hiccup - so what?

Just complete the program when you can, and don’t worry so much.
 
Bob_Crowley said:
What you’re effectively saying is that you think the entire ice storm, flat tire, and ice block was engineered just to stop you from attending confession? How many other people do you think had their plans stuffed up the same day for much the same reason?

You’ve been given a dispensation. Just leave it at that, stop being so impatient, and realise that God’s going to be there tomorrow, next week, next year, next century, next millennia.

You’re applying your human time frame to Him. He’s really not that worried about it, and He knows your sincere intention. You’ve had a minor hiccup - so what?

Just complete the program when you can, and don’t worry so much.
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^^^ this. This storm affected most of the country, and you think it was aimed directly and only at you? You might want to think about that for a little while. 😉
 
Theophilus76 said:
I’ve been longing to enter full communion for most of this calendar year. I’ve experienced many ups and downs; hurdles and barriers. Finally, my RCIA director discerned that I was indeed ready for the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend.

Why would God send a major ice storm to prevent my first confession (chapel not even open), and subsequent postponement of the Confirmation Mass I was supposed to attend?

First, I was going to take my wife’s car (Yukon) for it’s safety, but on Friday the tire went flat. Next, on Saturday morning, I had no choice but to chisel my Mustang out of the ice block it was in. I kept saying to God, “Do you see me? Do you see how hard I’m working to be united with your church, the one you established?” Next, I get all the way into town only to learn confession will not occur today. My RCIA director said not to worry. Father would take my confession right before Mass the next day. Finally, I get a call saying Confirmation is not happening, and a special dispensation was issues removing the obligation to attend.

I’m really trying to figure out why God would allow this. It’s got me shaken up quite a bit. I’m inclined postpone confirmation until I learn God’s reason for sending an ice storm to prevent my joining.
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You will have your confession, communion and confirmation and will have been blessed with the virtue of patience. God knows your great desire to receive the Sacraments, the Angels rejoice !
 
Ummm…how about my Jeep was stolen the night before my Confirmation?
Talk about specific. This wasn’t a sign that God didn’t want me to enter the Church, though, just a sign that some people have some really sketchy morals.

Just press on. God is still God–winter storms happen every winter. Had you been confirmed in Florida, during an active hurricane season, it may have been a different type of storm altogether that postponed you. If you must look for a sign from God in all of this, perhaps it’s a sign that God is telling you to persevere (one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is Fortitude, right?) through the storms that will inevitably come.

A worthy saying I’ve held onto from my Evangelical days–Never doubt in darkness what God has shown you in the light.

Blessings,
V
 
These same things would have happened if you had been going to the grocery store. I feel that you are being rushed through to receive Confirmation. Isn’t this done like at Easter Vigil? I don’t understand why the dispensation was requested to do it now. Dispensations are hard to get. Bishops generally like to follow protocol. Perhaps you do need further instruction. There is always something new to learn in preparation to receive the Sacraments. The school Confirmation program is for two years. But, yes, I am excited for you to become a Catholic and begin a new journey of faith. You will have a lot to contribute to building the church community and spreading the faith. I am praying you will embrace and participate in all of the resources available that draw us closer to God. Continue to exercise patience. God has a timeline. He loves you. It is common for people to question God and say, “God, why have You done this to me.” What we need to say is, “God, I have an obstacle, but I trust You will see me through.”
 
agnes_therese said:
^^^ this. This storm affected most of the country, and you think it was aimed directly and only at you? You might want to think about that for a little while. 😉
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Agreed! 👍 At the time of the storm, I guess God would also be busy all over the world making people drop dead from heart attacks, causing houses to catch on fire, people killing each other in warfare - Somehow I just don’t think God works that way!
 
Wow, so much for trying to discern the spirit. You guys are making me sound like a self absorbed idiot that needs more ‘training’ before being worthy enough to enter Christ’s church. Of course this storm affects more people than me and the other people who were going to be confirmed today.

I do have to say this, though: If my car was stolen right before I was to be confirmed, I would take serious pause to future out if God was working in one of His mysterious ways. I do this when anything prevents a major decision from executing.

My question goes deeper. Don’t you think God talks back to us by allowing our preventing certain things from happening; even if it was to stop it help an individual from doing something for our against His will.

Had anyone else experienced these kind of acts of God? How did it turn out? Something more along the lines of the Jeep story.
 
Hi Theophilus76,

Welcome …

God will bless your perseverance.

In my case, spiritual battles have tended to come when I’ve tried to take steps to become an artist … usually, the more important the step, the bigger the obstacles.

Beginning a few days before an art show, opening reception at an art gallery or museum, day on which I needed to travel to deliver or pick up art work and sometimes lasting right through the big day itself, I would often get hit with one or more of the following: migraine headache, painful eye infection, cold or flu, car trouble, family trouble flare-up, work-related stress, even a blatant temptation in the form of “Why bother going?”

… One night before a big event, the migraine was so bad it woke me up in the middle of the night, and this was after I had already taken medication. So I blessed myself with holy water and prayed, “Dear God, if You want me to go, please cure my headache.” In the morning I was better. But pain or no pain, I attended the events that I had committed to, feeling like if there was such a spiritual battle surrounding it, then it was that much more important to follow God’s Will.

Oh, and the latest spiritual battle was yesterday … I was supposed to meet a client in a coffee shop to personally deliver some prints and sign the mats. So of course, the night before, my “low tire pressure” light comes on in snowy / icy conditions, leaving me wondering if I might have a flat tire … (fortunately I didn’t) … I felt like I was coming down with the flu, I felt other aches and pains, I was tired, I had another errand to run before the coffee shop from a previous commitment so no time to check out the car tire situation at Valvoline, and another unforeseen stressful experience on top of it all.

But eventually, the client showed up at the coffee shop. And as she was up at the counter placing her order, “The Little Drummer Boy” was playing in the background, and I suddenly heard the words "Mary smiled at me … " which is personally meaningful to me in my artistic journey, so I almost burst into tears right then and there in gratitude at this confirmation of knowing that I’d done the right thing to struggle so hard to keep my appointment when it had been real tempting to just call and reschedule.

Oh yeah … today, now that my latest art responsibility is over, I’m feeling fine.

So hang in there
and know that I’m praying for you!

:blessyou:

~~ the phoenix
 
Theophilus,

One time, when on a way to a job interview a major thunderstorm hit as I was mid-way to the job interview. Within a matter of 30 minutes (the town I was interviewing in was 1 hour and 1 half away) the road conditions went from perfectly clear and dry to almost flooded (those pesky Texas thunderstorms). I decided that it meant that the job wasn’t for me.

Another time I was thinking of moving to California so I made a temporary visit and I experienced several barriers like the ones you were talking about. My credit card stopped working, my housing fell through etc. They were fairly minor but nothing seemed to go right for me. They made me reconsider whether I really wanted to live there and I ended up leaving and putting the idea of moving to California (with a career change) on the back burner.

In both situations I could have viewed the events as signs from God (and maybe they were) or maybe they were reflections of my inner doubt. In Psychology they say that when we are depressed our minds are naturally more attentive to what is going wrong with our lives and when we are happy we tend to minimize setbacks and focus on the positive. Often our interpretation of events can be reflections of hesitations or doubts we are having at the time.

That being said, I think that there can often be signs in our path that God sends us, he can close doors for us. But in the instances I described I think all of those setbacks made me consider how much I wanted what I was going after and whether my heart was really invested in what I was doing.

So if it is a sign from God, maybe he wants to know how much your heart is invested. Maybe not even necessarily for his sake but to strengthen your own understanding of why you are looking for uniting with the Church. Those are just my thoughts based on my experience. We can’t see everything that goes wrong or right as a sign from God, but I definitely think when we see a string of events or pattern in our lives there is good reason for us to ponder if he is trying to speak to us.
 
Theophilus76 said:
I’ve been longing to enter full communion for most of this calendar year. I’ve experienced many ups and downs; hurdles and barriers. Finally, my RCIA director discerned that I was indeed ready for the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend.

Why would God send a major ice storm to prevent my first confession (chapel not even open), and subsequent postponement of the Confirmation Mass I was supposed to attend?

First, I was going to take my wife’s car (Yukon) for it’s safety, but on Friday the tire went flat. Next, on Saturday morning, I had no choice but to chisel my Mustang out of the ice block it was in. I kept saying to God, “Do you see me? Do you see how hard I’m working to be united with your church, the one you established?” Next, I get all the way into town only to learn confession will not occur today. My RCIA director said not to worry. Father would take my confession right before Mass the next day. Finally, I get a call saying Confirmation is not happening, and a special dispensation was issues removing the obligation to attend.

I’m really trying to figure out why God would allow this. It’s got me shaken up quite a bit. I’m inclined postpone confirmation until I learn God’s reason for sending an ice storm to prevent my joining.
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It’s the opposite! Do you know about spiritual attack? The devil is trying to keep you from the church and convince you that these setbacks or blocks are signs God doesn’t want you. If the devil doesn’t want you in the church it means God not only wants you here as He does everyone, but that He intends to use you in particular for something special. The devil is working overtime to make you think you shouldn’t join. Persevere! Pray to St. Michael.

The times I had all kinds of issues like this come up were always when I was trying to get closer to God. Here are the things I went through to name a few:

A Mormon showing up who wanted to date me and hated the catholic church believing it was the whore of Babylon and trying to convince me. He had been nice at first though so it wasn’t easy to fight since I had liked him. This happened two weeks before and up to my being received into the church!

During my first total consecration to Mary I can’t tell you how many emergencies and roadblocks nearly kept me from getting to church in general and during the times I had to be there for the consecration.

During renewing my consecration I came under serious attack

Growing closer to the Lord and looking for work, so many catholic places rejected me and I was surrounded by people who had jobs there. I began to let the devil mess with my head saying I’m not really welcome in the church not catholic enough.

Take it as a good sign the devil is bothering you since it means you aren’t conforming to him, and take this as a huge sign that God wants you in His church.

Pray to the Blessed Mother! This is very important.

And do not give in to thinking God isn’t sure about you. He is definitely sure He wants you. This kind of spiritual attack happens when we move in the direction of uniting ourselves to Christ and saving souls. God bless your journey!
 
Theophilus76 said:
I do have to say this, though: If my car was stolen right before I was to be confirmed, I would take serious pause to future out if God was working in one of His mysterious ways. I do this when anything prevents a major decision from executing.

My question goes deeper. Don’t you think God talks back to us by allowing our preventing certain things from happening; even if it was to stop it help an individual from doing something for our against His will.

Had anyone else experienced these kind of acts of God? How did it turn out? Something more along the lines of the Jeep story.
Click to expand...
If you forget that there are evil beings who want your soul, it will look like God is the one who is putting up blocks as signs. This reminds me of when a friend was making things for a Farmer’s Market for the first time and she didn’t think her things were professional or a good as others and thought maybe God was saying she shouldn’t try selling them. She told her husband her thoughts and his response was “Satan be damned…” she ended up selling them and they were popular. Small example but do not take everything as from God. There is a spiritual battle and you are joining the Church Militant my friend. As a friend in seminary says, “If it disturbs you it’s not from God.”

Yesterday at mass I had just said some prayers to let go of a guy who I love and he me but I can’t be with because it wouldn’t work. Lo and behold he appeared at adoration just as I had gotten closure. At a church I never see him at. Is this a sign I am supposed to be with him and I was wrong? No, I still maintained it was not a good match, but seeing him we made some peace and I felt better about it than ever. God gave you reason and to be a slave to “signs” can be superstitious too.

All that said, I think there can be signs when a certain person or path is not for you. But I don’t think this ever happens when it comes to being in God’s church or doing something to get much closer to him. That is so different from deciding which job or house is right for you.

In short I think God really wants you in the church and the devil does not. So go for it!
 
well, i dont know, but if God wanted to use that to tell you something, maybe it was that you should be persistent, that you should not lose your fatih when things get bad or something like that. you know, positive things, not something like not wanting you to enter his Church, at much a signal that you are not ready, but dont miss confirmation, just talk about this with your priest before (about all this incident not only you might not being prepared), maybe youll find out something.
 
Theophilus, God speaks to us through events like this…and he also lets the devil tempt us to make sure that we are firm in our desire to be united with him. I believe it is what Erine is saying…the evil one trying to make you think God wants to you change your mind. You must resist.

I am a convert too, and I encountered significant resistance as I was trying to enter the church. Let me explain. I was separated at the time my conversion began. However, I still had hopes of reconciliation so did not move forward despite the Pastor we had at the time making it clear that he would do what was needed to help me enter the church. Over time, I realized reconciliation was not going happen, but the negotiation of the divorce settlement was taking forever…my ex was doing all he could to drag it out. After about two years, I had became desperate to receive our Lord in Holy communion. By this time, we had a new Pastor. I went to ask him if I could come into the church and he said: “No, not until you are divorced”. I was upset to the point of crying for days, but understood the decision.

Six months later the divorce was done and I went to the Pastor again. Now he said I needed to get an annulment before I could enter the church! I knew this wasn’t required. And, at this point I very nearly gave up. Satan put all kinds of thoughts in my head about not being wanted, how bad the church is, etc… I was a mess, but I went into the adoration chapel and told HIM how angry I was with HIM for making Father do this to me. I asked if he wanted me to go to the Methodist church across the street?..or back to the way I was before (basically a heathen)? No answer. Finally, I said “I am not talking to you anymore!”. I decided to pray the rosary; at this time I did not do that very often. But, I was thinking “Let me talk to your mother about this”. Still, I didn’t get very far because I couldn’t even complete an our Father…literally could not remember all the words. After about an hour of just sitting there being a complete mess, this lady comes in and walks straight up to me. She says “you need to go outside right away”. I did and there was the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen in my life going right over our church. Almost as amazing is that I had been thinking just that morning about how I hadn’t ever seen a rainbow since I moved to this state 15 years earlier! Some would say, well all that is a coincidence, but I knew HE had answered my question. And, I was pretty sure the Blessed Mother had intervened for me. 🙂

So, I kept going back to the Pastor and asking him to let me in. Finally, after about 6 months of this, he suddenly changed his mind after I begged him to just let me go to confession. I knew the Holy Spirit had intervened and changed his mind. There was even a little resistance then, but by this point in time it was actually kind of amusing.

You might wonder if I am still angry about the delay. Absolutely not! Looking back at it all, I am happy it went this way. God blessed me so much while I waited and at my first communion. He has already blessed you through the dispensation and the change in your RCIA director’s mind. Please don’t worry about a delay of a few days. You are going to be so happy once you are confirmed. Please don’t turn back now!
 
The bible says it rains on the good and the bad… Sometimes God sends us a message, sometimes the demons try to prevent us from doing good and sometimes natural things like bad weather just happens to hit just about everybody no matter what they have planned.

The year I got married it rained every weekend except on our wedding day. It was sunny and hot, then it rained every weekend afterwards. The day before my son was born a massive snow storm hit the area, but the day of, roads were clear enough to travel.

Some times things go perfectly other times you get drenched.🤷
 
Theophilus76 said:
Wow, so much for trying to discern the spirit. You guys are making me sound like a self absorbed idiot that needs more ‘training’ before being worthy enough to enter Christ’s church. Of course this storm affects more people than me and the other people who were going to be confirmed today.

I do have to say this, though: If my car was stolen right before I was to be confirmed, I would take serious pause to future out if God was working in one of His mysterious ways. I do this when anything prevents a major decision from executing.

My question goes deeper. Don’t you think God talks back to us by allowing our preventing certain things from happening; even if it was to stop it help an individual from doing something for our against His will.

Had anyone else experienced these kind of acts of God? How did it turn out? Something more along the lines of the Jeep story.
Click to expand...
All right. Suppose it was your car that got stolen right before you were due to be confirmed.

There are several ways of looking at this.

The first is the plain fact that some people make evil decisions. No doubt the devil has an interest in that, but it’s also a fact the decision to steal is theirs. He might tempt, but he doesn’t make them do it. So it may just be that your car just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The second is to assume that God has an interest in seeing how you react to such an event. Are you going to persevere, or are you going to give up? He expects perseverance as a rule.

The third is to assume that God allowed your car to be stolen because He didn’t want you to be confirmed. In that case, you then have to ask WHY God would not want you to be confirmed, apart from any questions about God having dealings with evil choices.

Ice storms are a natural event, like cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons. They affect everyone in the area, regardless of any important personal choices they were about to make. For all you know, some young bloke may have been wanting to pop the question to his girl friend about getting married, but the ice storm prevented him.

Was God saying his thoughts of marriage were a bad idea? No. What it would have done is to give him more time to worry about it - am I making the right choice? Will she reject me? Is the ring big enough and she’ll think I don’t make enough money? Is it too big and she’ll think I waste money? Will another bloke pop the question before I can get there? (In which case he needs to think twice about marrying her…)

Personally I wonder if you’ve got other concerns, and the storm has just provided extra time to worry about them?

Are there some other unresolved issues you’ve got about joining the Catholic Church?
 
Weddings and other events had to be cancelled because of Hurricane Katrina. The weddings took place at another date. Churches and reception halls had water or wind damage, some flattened throughout New Orleans-lives lost. It took months to clean and rebuild, repair, renew. Most everyone took this in stride. After a loss or setback, you just have to say, “What do I do now?”… do it, and go on. You don’t lose faith but keep praying and thank God for what you do have. There are trials in this life. I was ready to go to work one morning and went outside to a flat tire. God didn’t do it. I had a nail in the tire. Most things are just what happens in life. We are all praying for you. May God bless you on your faith journey.
 
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