“Sorrow melts away before a well offered prayer like snow before the sun.” St John Vianney
Do you find that REAL time in prayer brings you peace and comfort – Not necessarily understanding, but a peace that cannot be explained?
Not just sorrow melts away, but anger, jealousy, anxiety, worry, uneasiness… the list continues.
When you REALLY pray, things change because you encounter and interact with GOD, the one who changes. We become more like Him when we spend time with Him. Only God can change a heart- given just a fraction of an ounce of cooperation. Through prayer, we surrender our will to His, and that is when our sorrow, anger, jealousy, anxiety, worry, or uneasiness melts.
There is a sorrow I have that is great. It washes over me in waves. I say that I have a sorrow. I do not say that I am sad. It probably sounds like I am splitting hairs here, but let us meditate on Our Lord and His Mother. Would anyone describe them as sad? I bet not. They had sorrows, yes. Those sorrows did not prohibit their joy and contentment. Those sorrows did not rob them of their trust and hope!
So, I have this sorrow; we all do, I bet. There is always someone in our lives or even ourselves that is hurting, is sick, is losing faith, is walking away from the Lord, is thinking or acting in a disordered way, is struggling with something, and it always seems to be something in that gray area – where there is no real right or wrong way for us to maneuver in this situation. We only know that we MUST reflect our Heavenly Father in the process!
As my children grow older and must make decisions on their own, they must make their Faith their own. I am reminded of how a parent MUST REFLECT GOD! I also must TRUST.
Our kids have been taught, for teaching is a parent’s responsibility, but it is up to our kids to accept, receive, and live what we teach them. They have been taught the consequences of free will choices. They have been taught there is a Heaven and a Hell; They have been taught there is right and wrong. They have been taught the commandments and the laws of the Church. They have been taught that God loves them. They have been taught that there is mercy available to them. Not only have they been taught, but also these things have been demonstrated by the good example of those who love them.
Will they err? Yes! Will they question? Yes! Will I always approve of their behavior or their free will choices? No! Will they always turn to us, their first teachers? No! Will I experience sorrow as they navigate all these things? Yes! Will God ever abandon them? No! Will God ever stop pursuing them? No! He loves them more than I can. He knows them better. He loves them perfectly.
My struggle is to remember sorrow melts away before a WELL OFFERED PRAYER. OFFER IT UP- PRAY WELL. Do not lose hope. Do not forget to praise, to thank, to raise a hallelujah in the presence of my enemies: sorrow, anger, jealousy, anxiety, worry, uneasiness…
