They have no wine...

Mary can teach us kindness..."They have no wine" she told Jesus at Cana.  Let us, like her, be aware of the needs of the poor, be they spiritual or material, and let us, like her, give generously of the love and grace we are granted.  -Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

I have been a bit like that leaf floating down the river.  Not feeling like I have a direction.  Feeling a bit aimless.  Feeling dissatisfied.

I am not sure what I am dissatisfied with, but it is a vague cloud that hangs over me and makes me itchy.

If I look around I have so much to be thankful for in my life.  There are people, even in my own family, that are facing huge financial worries and health issues.  I have a roof over my head, food on my table, clothes on my back, good friends, and most importantly I have my faith!

I am finding my way in this new phase of my life.  I am still enthusiastic about life and all the adventures that await me.  Our Lord has been revealing His mission for me in bits and pieces.  I like the big overview and then distill it down.  God works by handing out hints and teases me with my mission.  Why?  Because it is all about Trust, Abandonment, and Obedience.  The message is always the same.

God:  Trust me I have a plan.
Me: But have you thought about this or this?

God: Trust me I have a plan.  Have I ever let you down?
Me: No You have never let me down, BUT...

You get the picture.  Mary, as Father Charlie reminded me this morning, trusted her Son.  Today's Gospel has the only words attributed to Mary in the Bible.  "Do whatever He tells you."

Wise words indeed.  "Do whatever He tells you."

Lord, I may feel like that leaf floating down a river with no direction.
You have set my direction as I pass over each stone, branch or obstacle in my way.
You move me along in the shallows and the deep.  You let me linger in the stillness.
You move me rapidly when needed.

Lord, keep my heart and ear tuned to You.
Help me to take heed of Mary's words:
"Do whatever He tells you."
~Cindy

Trust, Abandonment, & Obedience

Trust, Abandonment, & Obedience...that is quite the mouthful!  Yet for a week it has been my meditation.  The Holy Spirit gave me these three directives while talking to my prayer partner.  We both struggle with trust.  We doubt ourselves and find that soon we can only see obstacles to what God wants for us and for what God wants us to do.

It has come to me that if I can trust God then I am able to abandon my will, desires, etc for His Will and His Desires.  It then follows that I will be Obedient.  Obedient to Him, who only asks that I TRUST IN HIM.

It sounds so simple and it is.  Little children trust their parents completely.  Children will love and trust an abusive parent.  So how is it that I who have a loving, caring Father in God have a hard time trusting.  Simply because I am a sinner and human.  Oh and I need a 2x4 to get the message.

God put me in the desert, not just figuratively but in reality.  It can be a dry lonesome place with prickly thorny plants and little water.  Yet, it is also filled with the solitude that I need to hear God.  It is full of plants that though prickly and thorny have blooms that take my breath away.  An there is enough water to sustain life.

God in His great mercy provides for me.  The other meditation He gave me is from Venerable Charles de Foucauld.
"One must cross the desert and live there to receive God's grace.  It is there that one can drive away from oneself everything that is not God."



Lord, help me to live in the desert with more peace so that I may drive away everything that is not God.

~Cindy