H
happilycatholic
Guest
For me it was having my son, 21 years old, in Iraq. This could be just another story about a mother with her only son in Iraq except there was a twist in this story. Not a particularly interesting one, but a twist nevertheless.
I was already going through RCIA when my son was deployed after finishing basic and AIT 28 days before. I am a Christian and I was doing what Christians who want to become catholic Christians do. I thought I had a deep personal relationship with Christ.
There was not enough time to prepare or to brace ourselves for what was about to happen. We were about to say goodbye not knowing if we would ever see his face again. I was lost. We are especially close and I was completely overwhelmed with grief. I almost quit RCIA.
Then the twist…
I prayed. I prayed to God that if Christopher had to die that God would make sure he wasn’t alone. That’s it. That’s the best I could hope for. Who was I to pray that my son live while others were dying? So that was my prayer.
To me, devotion means “complete surrender”. I completely surrendered to God at that moment. At that moment I became a “devout” Christian for the first time in my life.
I think we sometimes wait for God to do something in our lives before we commit. I think I was waiting for a sign that God would be there always. But it comes AFTER the surrender, not before. That feeling that God is in control.
I had no choice. Just like all the other parents, I had a child in a place where no matter what I felt or wanted, there was nothing I could do but pray and trust God to be with him…and me.
God will move in our lives regarless, but we can’t feel the weightlessness of surrender if we refuse to let Him carry the load.
Now everything just comes natural. Things like prayer, fasting, and other things are a way of life for me. My life is better than ever. Not because there aren’t trials or challenges or hardships.
It’s because now I FEEL God’s love for me because I finally took the last step and totally surrendered to His will.
HC
I was already going through RCIA when my son was deployed after finishing basic and AIT 28 days before. I am a Christian and I was doing what Christians who want to become catholic Christians do. I thought I had a deep personal relationship with Christ.
There was not enough time to prepare or to brace ourselves for what was about to happen. We were about to say goodbye not knowing if we would ever see his face again. I was lost. We are especially close and I was completely overwhelmed with grief. I almost quit RCIA.
Then the twist…
I prayed. I prayed to God that if Christopher had to die that God would make sure he wasn’t alone. That’s it. That’s the best I could hope for. Who was I to pray that my son live while others were dying? So that was my prayer.
To me, devotion means “complete surrender”. I completely surrendered to God at that moment. At that moment I became a “devout” Christian for the first time in my life.
I think we sometimes wait for God to do something in our lives before we commit. I think I was waiting for a sign that God would be there always. But it comes AFTER the surrender, not before. That feeling that God is in control.
I had no choice. Just like all the other parents, I had a child in a place where no matter what I felt or wanted, there was nothing I could do but pray and trust God to be with him…and me.
God will move in our lives regarless, but we can’t feel the weightlessness of surrender if we refuse to let Him carry the load.
Now everything just comes natural. Things like prayer, fasting, and other things are a way of life for me. My life is better than ever. Not because there aren’t trials or challenges or hardships.
It’s because now I FEEL God’s love for me because I finally took the last step and totally surrendered to His will.
HC