What an amazing day in the Lord!
From the early morning text from my new spiritual father, priest-hermit, to some discernment humor involving someone I was asked to drive to an college class, to having to face that the Lord chose not to have what I thought would be a special occasion to celebrate with a loved one, only to later on the Lord choosing to have a rare and surprise, most loving and uplifting phone call from a beloved niece.
I had not realized until getting into the pick-up truck, that it had been 9 days since I'd been out and about on errands or appointments. Between spiritual reading, writing, Scriptures, and I think 5 phone calls in that time period, at most, the time passes silently and if slowly, the slowness is not a conscious awareness and thus not a concern. All seems to flow in the grace and goodness of God!
This afternoon there was the remarkable interaction with a stranger in an aisle at Lowe's, where I was checking on supplies for some patching needed in the St. John the Baptist Bathroom here at Solus Deus Hermitage. It was immediately after what had been the reality-check regarding what the Lord chose not for me, regarding the special occasion. God kept inserting into the unexpected encounters, what He did want, did choose to remind me He is in charge; He has the every present moments willed for us.
Then, needing to go to Home Depot for a separate supply item, the employee in plumbing seemed eager to share some very helpful tips plus encouragements. The young man in the check-out line insisted on calling someone to load the supply into Precious Blood (pick up truck), and the young man who did so also wanted to share a bit of his job, and in most positive manner. On to the grocery for some produce and buttermilk, and yet another kindly encounter with the self-checker clerk who did not even need to be waved over; she noticed the computerized system had a kink going on. So pleasant, so delightful, so helpful.
Arriving back at Solus Deus, God had the neighbor boy shooting baskets in the darkness on a cold evening--the only light from their home's opened garage door with lights on. He immediately came over to carry in the heavy supply for me; I had just figured I'd need to wait until morning and leverage it out from the passenger side, slide it, let it drop on its own, then try to shove the dolly under it to get the heavy supply into the garage.
Again, the Lord made it clear to me that HE is the One Who guides this nothing maybe-or-maybe -not consecrated Catholic hermit's life. God provides not waht we think we want, but what we need. I'm sharing a portion of what St. Gertrude of Helfta (the Great) wrote circa latter years of 13th century, of the generous goodness of God.
"Reflecting, one day, on the various graces she had received from the generous goodness of God, Gertrude considered herself to be miserable and unworthy of any favors since, up to that point, she had wasted so many of the gifts received from God through negligence that she could not see she had drawn the least fruit from them either for herself, by profiting or giving thanks for them, nor for others who, by taking note of them, might have found in them cause for edification and progress in their knowledge of God.
"This light comforted her: that sometimes the Lord does not lavish graces on his saints to make them each give suitable fruit back to him since human weakness often puts difficulty in the way. But because God's goodness and overflowing generosity know no measure, even though he knows we cannot bring them all to fruition, he does not nevertheless strive less to accumulate graces so as at least to assure us of an accumulation of eternal beatitude.
"Just as, in the case of earthly things, it usually happens that people sometimes give something to a small child who does not know the usefulness he can expect from it so that later on, once he is an adult, he might be laden with good things, so the Lord, when he bestows grace on his elect in this life, prepares them and assures them of the good things for which eternal delight will make them happy in heaven."
God bless His Real Presence in us! Little children, let us love one another as God is love and loves each of us so very much!
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