Greetings Parents!
As a child I was terrified of the glass floor in a museum. Below it was a preserved fox and, I think, rabbits. These didn't bother me, but the fear of falling did. My parents had to carry me across because I didn't trust it, even after seeing many people cross.
This memory came to mind as I pondered a big decision my husband and I made for which we know a direction, but is still unfinished in coming together. It is a bit frightening, but all the pros for the family make it a clear good option - if everything falls into place as we hope. So we're moving forward in faith, feeling like we're stepping out over a black abyss, but with confidence that there is an unseen floor between us and the abyss. There is such peace with this decision and such unrest without it, and so many indications to take this leap that only God could have put in place. Trusting Him is our only recourse. To not do so would undermine everything He has taught us and that we profess to believe.
Still, it feels unnerving. There is nervousness, but I have to question why. I am certain of this, so it seems, if I truly believe that God is in charge and He has a Plan, then there should be only calm and excited anticipation. Yet I hear the voice of the world, pressing for assurances before action and highlighting all that can go wrong. To each statement God provides an answer, but the nervousness remains, in a smallish way. I've decided to accept that it is there, leave it, ignore it, and consider it the ignorant world's view or even an evil voice trying to dispel my peace, as happened to Adam and Eve.
Do I believe God would provide everything, but hold one thing back? If I do, of what value is my faith? It can't be a little bit of both. God is Creator and Ruler of everything, or He is not. If He is, then there should never be anxiety or fear, only a waiting for what comes next with an assurance that He's worked things out, even though it might be difficult for a time. But it's obvious to those of faith how lost is the world - why would I ever give any credence to its so-called wisdom over God? It can contain a piece of God's Wisdom, but not the entirety and not without being colored by fallen humanity's blemishes.
So we are moving forward in Trust, listening for His promptings for our next move and waiting to see the amazing way in which He has planned out our next adventure. It's a bit of work still, quelling the nagging nerves, but it is such a holy thrill when we see His hand at work when pondering His action in our past!!
Hug your children tight , remind them of how completely God acts in their lives, if they let Him, and encourage them to talk with Him frequently so they will know His Voice apart from all the faulty voices in the world! May God bless you and your family abundantly!
- Linda Bader, CRE St.Thomas More
P.S. Did you know.... Pope Benedict was born in 1927 into a faith-filled home that fortified him through the rise and spread of the Nazi's - even witnessing his parish priest's beating before a Mass. He and his seminarian classmates were drafted into the military, but he never fired a shot. After the war he continued his formation and was ordained a priest in 1951. Eventually he became a university professor and a theological advisor and expert at Vatican II, and was ordained a bishop, archbishop, then cardinal and appointed to numerous positions having relationships to various countries and organizations.
A motto he chose was, "Fellow Worker in the Truth," because he dedicated his life to sharing God's Truth as God revealed it then safeguarded it in the Catholic Church. His many publications seek to bring to all people the Light of Understanding these truths in our current world. After shepherding the Church for 8 years, he resigned to a life of solitude and prayer, stating that to perform well the role of Pope required more strength than he could continue to give.
Other Popes who have resigned... An early pope resigned when he was forced into a labor camp, but wanted to enable the Church to elect a new, free, pope. Two other popes were forcibly deposed by governments, and political maneuvering forced a man into the role of pope, three times, the intermediary popes dying in between. Another was elected at an elderly age and resigned after a few years. Finally, again because of political maneuvering, there were 3 men at one time identified by different political entities as the pope. Eventually, all three resigned to enable restoring unity by electing a new pope.
