God’s Will For Our Lives

Good Morning Everyone!

I hope this post finds all of our readers happy, healthy and enjoying life! I am writing at the urging of a very important person in my life (you know who you are) who, when I shared this story with her – because I just COULDN’T keep it bottled up inside – told me I really MUST write it down. So here I go:

As all of you know, Craig and I began at the beginning of 2013 looking for a new church home. We visited several parishes – all of which were wonderful, but it wasn’t until we walked into St. Francis of Assisi in Cartersville that we knew we were “home”. We had been to Mass at St. Francis several times before, but when we walked in this particular time, Father Stack reached over, touched Craig on the arm and said, “Are y’all mine or just passing through?”

Now, keep in mind, this occurred as we were walking into Sunday morning mass. It was crowded and Craig and I were amid that crowd, but yet, in speaking about the situation with him later, C and I both agreed it was like that moment was paused in time. It was like we were the only ones in the hallway… We had been very prayerfully considering our decision to find a new church, and the moment we reached out to various points of contact within the parish to become involved, we were welcomed with arms wide open – quite the opposite from our former church home. We even received an e-mail from Father Stack welcoming us, before we had even formally joined.

Do you get the same goosebumps I do when you consider that perhaps Jesus was speaking through Father Stack, and asking us, “Are you MINE or just passing through?”

Nothing like that has happened on any Sunday since. Not since Craig and I took off the burdens holding us back and moved to a church where we could grow in our faith, and really become involved in service to God.

Now, as we have made one of our ‘goals’ for Lent to really seek God’s Will for our little family, and as we study His Word each weeknight with our “Experiencing God” Bible study, Craig and I are recognizing God’s work in our lives with ever so much more clarity:

• The beginning of Summer 2008, when I felt God calling me to become a Catholic. I didn’t know why. I had grown up in the Baptist Church and was raised in the Christian faith. I just felt God leading me to become a Catholic. So I said yes.
• The beginning of 2011, when Craig and I both felt led to join Catholic Match. I speak for myself when I say I resisted as long as possible, and then finally gave in to God’s tugging on my heartstrings and said yes.
• The beginning of 2013, when we both felt that God was leading us to find a new church home, and then His guiding us to the place we needed to be.

Then, the other day Craig and I both threw in the towel and decided I simply HAD to leave my current job. The environment was just too ‘toxic’. We prayed about the decision for months on end, and never felt like it was the ‘right time’. There were other job offers and opportunities, but still, it just didn’t feel right. And then Tuesday, February 19th came about, and we both knew it was right. I gave my notice, and arbitrarily chose March 5th as my final day.

The very next day, there was more than one opportunity on the table, one of them beginning 2 days after my current job is ending and paying almost the exact amount we need to stick to our budget, and on my way home from the office, I was on the phone with my husband, exclaiming how we took this leap of faith and it really appeared that if we just put our trust in the Lord, we would be okay. Craig noted how it reminded him of the story of Abraham taking Issac up the mountain to make a sacrifice to God. Genesis 22:1-18 Taking that blind faith, and following the Lord because you know that He will provide for you.

Later that evening, I was reading my ‘assignment’ for the discussion Craig and I would have later on the phone for our Bible study, and I came across the story of Abraham and Issac…And I thought to myself…Hmmm….Craig must have already read his part for tonight’s discussion when we were on the phone earlier…And then I read further and the next story was of a man and a wife. The man had a good-paying position, and yet, he and his wife felt God’s calling to them to leave that job for one that was completely unsure but definitely where they were being led. It was a story where the people put their total trust in God and followed Him, and they were provided for in the exact amount they needed.

After I read that, I thought, “Oh, wow.” and then, “God, Craig hadn’t read this Bible study when I talked with him earlier, had he?”

I texted my husband:

God is just amazing. He led me to convert to Catholicism, and I had no idea why, but I listened and I followed Him. That was in 2008, and in 2011, I found out WHY. I didn’t want to join Catholic Match. I thought it was just going to be a dead end, but I felt led to join, and so I said yes, on the off-chance that just maybe God knew what He was doing…and lo’ and behold… 🙂

Craig and I talked that very night on the phone, and thought back…Two years ago, we didn’t even KNOW each other, and here we are, happier than EVER before in our lives, and married to our soul-mate… All because we said YES to God.

He has a plan for each of us, and He CERTAINLY knows what He is doing, and WHY. We just have to be go by our blind faith, and He will lead us on an amazing journey.

xoxo,

Pier & Craig