Is this God working in a mysterious way?

[chrisy123]

Hello all. I am not a “regular” here although I do come on here to find inspiration from fellow Catholics from time to time. My story tonight is kind of lengthy and perhaps messy as my mind is going a mile a minute at the moment, but I have confidence that you kind people will be of great help.
I’ve been with my boyfriend for almost a year and a half. It’s been messy on a personal level for me, as I am a practicing and pretty devout catholic and my boyfriend is not. I know, I know, it’s bad to involve yourself romantically with someone who’s not of the faith, but I did anyways. Please don’t judge. I’ve had much guilt over this as I have somewhat strayed from my formerly devout catholic ways, but it has brought me to the situation I am in here, tonight. Throughout the past year and a half I cant help but think every day about how much I want my boyfriend to find God and his grace the way I have. I’ve talked to him about my own personal journey of faith in the hopes it would inspire him but so far it hasn’t seemed to. Tonight we were having a conversation where he admitted that he has a history of mental illness and, several years ago, a suicide attempt. This chills me to the bone, obviously. So as I’m listening to him telling me this dark history of his, helpless and terrified, it dawned on me. He needs God. He always needed God in his life (who doesn’t?) but now knowing this personal struggle that he grapples with, he needs God more than I thought. And he needs him now. How does one bring another person to God without driving that person further away from the potential help?
It gets better though.
Turns out my father (who’s a deacon) knows my boyfriends uncle (knew him long before my boyfriend and I started dating. They know each other through church). His uncle, who my boyfriend is pretty trusting of, is on the committee for a men’s acts retreat that’s taking place in April. His uncle told me several weeks ago that he was going to try to get my boyfriend to come on the retreat, and I pray everyday that my boyfriend somehow, some way, decides to go. I have a feeling he won’t as he has a minor social anxiety and doesn’t like to open up to strangers. But it’s exactly what he needs!! As I’m typing this I’m realizing I have no real point of question in all this, I guess I’m just asking for (more) prayers that my boyfriend will be called to go on this retreat. He so desperately needs someone to open his eyes and heart to God. Please pray for him! In some ways I feel like maybe it’s gods plan for me to be the one who can save my boyfriend. I can teach him and guide him to God the same way I found him, if only he would let me. Praying that God guides both of our hearts safely to Him.

Thanks for listening.

 

[edarlitrix]

Hey, praying, and I recommend that you read The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur.

Here are some neat quotes from it:

To go more and more to souls, approaching them with respect and delicacy, touching them with love. To try always to understand everything and everyone. Not to argue; to work instead through contact and example; to dissipate prejudice, to reveal God and make Him felt without speaking of Him; to strengthen one’s intelligence, to enlarge one’s soul. . . ; to love without tiring, in spite of disappointment and indifference. . . . Never to show the wounds that are caused by certain hostilities, declarations, or misunderstandings; to offer them for those who cause this suffering.

To learn from the Heart of Jesus the secret of love for souls and deep knowledge of them: how to touch their hurts without making them smart and to dress their wounds without reopening them; … to disclose Truth in its entirety and yet make it known according to the degree of light that each soul can bear. The knowledge required for for the apostolate can be had only from Jesus Christ, in the Eucharist and in prayer.

catholicladylive.blogspot.com/2011/02/marriage-saved-in-heaven.html

 

[robwar]

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. No matter what plans you have or desire or even his uncle’s, he will have to come to faith on his own. Yes, you pray for him but eventually you are going to have to come to a decision that if you want a husband that shares your faith, you may have to move on from this guy and that is going to be painful because you already invested too much into this guy and when someone says they have been with someone, it sounds like you are living with him. If that is the case, mortal sin clouds your judgement and relationship with God and you will need to go to confession.

 

[GrowingFaith]

I will be praying for your boyfriend and for you. Your feelings are legitimate- he does need God, as we all do! But the best we can do in situations like this is to lead by example. “Preaching” to him at the wrong times can push him away from Him, but showing him, without judgement, the beauty of living a Christian life has more potential to bring him closer to the Word. Forgive me for sharing my story without solicitation, please. My fiancée is a “cradle Catholic” that has fallen away from the Church’s teachings. I’m an unbaptized believer, and I do my best to follow what She teaches. I pray for her every day, but before we got engaged, I had to ask myself this question- “If she never comes home to the Church’s way, do I still want to spend my life with her?” For me, the answer is yes. But I realize that I can’t push her towards the Church, I can only show her how the Church enriches my life, and pray for her constantly.

Again, I will pray for your boyfriend and you. I pray that God will reveal Himself to him, and that He will guide and comfort you along this difficult journey.