A MIRACLE MOMENT!

By -

I participated in a miracle this past week. I simply said yes and God did the rest.

My soul sister, Judy, and I traveled to 'Our Lady of Hope' in St. Augustine Fl. with precious cargo...Explosive precious cargo, but precious nonetheless. Her son Christian, agreed to visit the community for a three day orientation...To test the waters for his possible entry into their three year program for the recovery of body, mind and soul.

Just shy of 20, Christian has been addicted to drugs for several years...From drinking to marijuana, from pills to sniffing heroine, from smoking crack cocaine to standing at death's door. It sounds so surreal just thinking about it. This beautiful young man, who is so dearly Loved, losing his soul and his life to the seductive lure of illegal drugs. It's not what anyone hopes for-for their children.

We drove nine hours, through driving rainstorms, through the withdrawal minefields and the ever increasing anticipation that our mission was nothing short of miraculous.

As we huddled in the gas station rest rooms, discussing Christian's escalating anger, we kept our eyes on the ball...Knowing God had anointed this trip, because only God could have convinced Christian to say yes. He tried to back out, changed his mind...challenged his yes, cheated on his honesty...But, he went nonetheless.

When we dropped him off in the mornings, we headed straight to Mass and to hours of adoration. Prayer got him there and prayer would sustain him-and us.

Deep inside, I always believed Christian would make the trip...and when he made the phone call, asking for an orientation date, I knew the pendulum had swung high to the heavens, but I had no idea just how high.

By the end of the three days and following an intervention, Christian agreed to stay. That's not the way it works, but Albino, the saintly man in charge, had discerned that if Christian left, he would never return and he could possibly die. So he bent the rules, found a bed and welcomed Christian two weeks early.

As Judy and I drove away, we shook our heads in disbelief, prayed a rosary in thanksgiving and laughed in sheer delight over the miracle moment that had just played out right before our eyes.

God is good-we know that. He's even more remarkable when we let him lead us through impossible dreams. Time and again he has proven the power of his transforming Love-and the lengths he will go to save us-if we simply have the courage to surrender and say yes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SUBLIME AUDACITY!

By -
Image
I have all the signs and symptoms of something I just learned about today...Sublime Audacity. That's right...I have the audacity to believe-that anything is possible-anything at all-with God. In fact, I believe that there is one cure for all the world's ills...and that cure rests with -and in God. In a world of material wealth, individual desires and carefully orchestrated managed care...When people search the world over for the answers that never come, the healings that rarely happen and the hope that always gets dashed by the next person...I believe that there is only one steady stream of consciousness that always gets it right...and that is God. I've personally experienced it time and again and every time I look elsewhere or seek some other solution, I always come crawling back to the staying power of my higher power...Because let's face it...Once we have the audacity to tell anyone-anyone at all that God is responsible for all the good in our lives or the Love that ...
Read more

OUR LADY OF JOY, HANCEVILLE ALABAMA

By -
Image
High atop a hill in Hanceville Alabama, broken hearts are being healed and hope is being restored. Our Lady of Joyful Hope is a community of young men who are finding new freedom through a life of authentic truth. Once lost in the darkness of addiction they are now living in the light of Christ who is transforming them from the inside out...And their families, if they are open and willing, are being transformed right alongside them. Recently, I spent three days with this community, listening to the young men, their parents and to the foundress, Mother Elvira, who flew in from Italy for the anointing of the new community house and the celebration that followed. Mother Elvira's life story is on par with Mother Teresa. She is an Italian nun who heard the call from God to snatch souls from Satan by delivering young men and women from the demonic grip of addiction. She gave up everything familiar, walked straight into the wilderness and wound up becoming a living legacy for desperate fa...
Read more

CONFESSIONS OF FATHER JOE BENSON

By -
As we sat in silence, meditating...I nudged my friend Terri, "What do we have to complain about?!" I whispered. There he hung, pain stricken, vulnerable in his nakedness, sharp thorns cutting into his head, pleading eyes fixed on the heavens. What I thought, on God's green earth, do I have to complain about?! That's probably why they do it...place the life like crucifix dead center-above the altar, just above the Blessed Sacrament, right where you can't miss it...just to remind us-things could be worse, but they're destined to get better-if we keep our eyes focused-on the solution. Another friend-likes to remind me-he's not on the cross anymore...So why do we keep him there? Every one's got an opinion, but to tell you the truth, I need to be reminded of the sacrifice...and every painful moment in between. Puts my problems in perspective...helps me see clearly...gives me strength to proceed. We went to first Friday adoration in the upper ninth ward.....
Read more