Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
The Holy Spirit inspired our blog.
For the last week, we will break with what we have been doing for the past two-plus years.
Mike sent me three pictures; the third is today’s picture, which, when I looked at it, summed up my, yes, my life perfectly.
The above picture shows the start of their seventy-mile hike.
I looked at it and saw myself graduating from college at age twenty-three, accepted into the Navy Officer Candidate School, anticipating a future marriage, finding a job, and raising children. The list for me and you was long, and like the picture, it seemed daunting.
Looking at the bottom center-right, you will see me and the winding and rising trail as life becomes more complex.
Where’s God?
Well, God is there. Look at the top left, and you see a small patch of blue sky. That’s God, sadly, as I have said many times, in my stupid younger years, God was up there, and I was down here.
Leave me alone, Lord, I know it all!
The wonderful thing was that God didn’t leave me alone. You can’t see, but the sky comes down to the ground. My Father, Brother, and the Holy Spirit were always with me. Interestingly, this week is A Memorial to our Guardian Angels. The timing is exquisite.
I started allowing God into my life when I needed them. I also did my Father’s will when I agreed with what He asked of me.
THAT’S NOT A RELATIONSHIP!
This picture reminds me of all the DIFFICULTIES I, and I am sure you, have faced over the years.
DIFFICULTIES like finding a Job, being fired three times, almost going belly up twice, nearly having the mortgage paid off in eleven months, and having to refinance the house with a new mortgage triple the original mortgage amount for the next fifteen years, ending at my age sixty-five, to pay for our sons education, Health issues, all of these, and more were DIFFICULTIES I yes I, encountered over the first seventy years of my, yes my life.
These DIFFICULTIES, and more, God ALLOWED in my, yes, my life, to bring me closer to them.
And
God Took care of me, or should I say us, our entire family. My stubborn attitude of going it alone made life much harder than it had to be. I often walked the bridge alone because I refused the relationship that God wanted and that They were yearning for.
The third picture you saw three weeks ago, and to me, I look at David, who is not looking behind but looking forward and LIVING in the NOW.
The triune God we worship is a God of NOW, I AM, not I was, or I will be, but I AM.
This picture reminds me of a past strewn with rocks, bridges, and what looked impossible at the time but has been transformed into a Peaceful view. It also reminds me of the challenging journey that I am now Joyful that I took. It might seem strange to say this, but I had to grow in my relationship, and God would not let me or you miss the chance for that growth. Growth is hard, but growth is needed and should be celebrated.
We once asked a fellow golfer, “If when you die, you go to the Golf Course in the sky and every shot you make is a hole-in-one, are you in Heaven or hell?”
The answer is hell.
Why, it would soon become very dull. Treat the difficulties God ALLOWS in your life the same way: I didn’t see God in my DIFFICULITY at that moment, but I faced them, overcame them, and, surprisingly, God was with me, like the sky I didn’t see them, and I came out stronger and closer to God.
Then for me,
At age seventy, I finally agreed to a relationship with the Triune God and let God take over my life.
Fourteen years into retirement, FORCED on me by God my Father, thank you, Father, and I am filled with Love, Joy, and Peace to a level I had never reached before, and I only want more. I am not looking back; the sky does not fill the last picture, but it does, for as we said earlier, the sky goes to the ground. I now want God in my life, trying always to do Their will. New Difficulties are now more easily defeated through prayer and our Relationship.
The mountain I face at age eighty-three is a hill now. Don’t think for a minute old age is a cake walk, and the bridges are shorter, lower, and less scary.
Easy!
I am consciously trying to become like a little child and discover the AWE of the wonderful creation God has allowed me to see, participate in, and live in, along with the wonderful people he has brought into my life, including You, the readers, the people who write comments, and the people who send those beautiful pictures.
People say to me, “You’re Blessed,” and they are correct, but we respond, “Yes, and you are part of that blessing.”
How appropriate is the Gospel reading for today?
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.
“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”
Emphasis mine Mt 18:1-5, 10
As I think back to my childhood, from age one to ten, I trusted Dad and Mom to feed, clothe, and provide a loving environment in which to live. I tried to do my part, but as it is with God, I was not always successful. After age ten, I started wanting to go it alone, but my relationship with Mom and Dad didn’t change. I loved and had Faith they would take care of me. They jumped on the Hallajua Train home to Jesus, but I am not abandoned, for I know and Love my Eternal Father , Brother, and The Holy Spirit.
Yes, I am now consciously, remember, conscious competent, trying to let God run my life. Since we made the transition at age seventy, all I can say is that I wish I had done this much earlier in my life. As we noted earlier in this blog, the climb now is not as steep, and the bridge is much lower. The journey ends, or should I say begins, when I jump on the Hallelujah train home to Jesus, my Lord and Savior.
Do you want to start building a relationship? Try praying for an increase of the Fruit of The Holy Spirit in your life.
IF THE THREE PICTURES AFFECT YOU AS THEY DID ME, SEND AN EMAIL, AND WE WILL SEND THEM TOO YOU. I have them hanging on the wall next to my desk.
Picture:
Start of Mike’s and Dave’s climb. Picture by Mike Prince
Please keep Snapping!
If you want a copy of the prayers we discussed, email me.
fprince101@gmail.com
Remember, if you want to submit a picture, please do not include people. We have to get permission from that person to use their photograph.
