All told, things have been going pretty well for me. I have a wonderful family, a good job that makes a difference to our future, dependable friends, a nice place to live, and a healthy faith in God. That said, I've been angry a lot the past week. Part of the reason is due to an issue at work that got aggravated even more today. I couldn't stop thinking about it.
It is my tradition to say a rosary or a rosary-like set of prayers on my way home from work. It usually allows me to detox from any issues of the day, and it gives me some time with God. I was only two decades in, but my mind just kept circling in destructive cycles about that issue at work. I tried to force myself to think of anything else, but the thought (and the anger) wouldn't budge.
I then remembered something that my brother-in-law Sam said at the funeral for his father yesterday. He recounted the story about how his father decided to dedicate his life to Christ. His father had looked in a mirror and simply asked God for help. In response, a wave of peace and tranquility washed over him.
I have had similar moments (if not quite as dramatic) in my life, so I decided to do something similar. I asked God to help me, to help me from being so angry. Within a mile of saying this a snowflake fell from the sky and landed directly in my line of sight on my window. It wasn't a pretty snowflake, but there was no doubting what it was. My car's external thermometer read a outdoor temperature of 49 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, for those of you who don't know, I love snow; the sight of it always makes me happy, joyful as though the Earth was new. My anger flowed right out of me like puss from a lanced wound, and I just started sobbing in relief and joy. He knows about my love of snow and He answered my plea with this snowflake.
I know that my more cynical friends will put their own take on this event, but I believe that God watches out for us. I felt His love surround me in that moment, ensuring me that I will be fine, and I wept at the purity of that feeling. Try it some time. Allow God to love you; feel His embrace.
RSS Feed
