Submitted by Anonymous.
After concentrating myself to Saint Mary on the Solemnity of Mary on January 1, 2015, not long afterward did I start praying the following prayer:
Dear God,
Lead me today according to Your Will.”
From praying this simple prayer, I started to see how God works in my life. In addition, I have increased my trust in Him to a point that led me to pray to do His Will every day. So, the final prayer that I now recite every day and now encourage others to pray is……
Dear God,
Lead me today according to Your Will, and that I do Your Will this day.
God never ceases to show me the ways He works in my life, and I am beginning to see how God is using me as His instrument in the lives around me just by praying this simple prayer every day.
Have you ever heard of the phrase, “Let Go and Let God?”
Have you ever tried to “Let Go and Let God?”
It is not so simple is it? No, it is extremely difficult, and especially when things do not go as we have planned. If you want to make God laugh, make plans. It never fails, He is in control, not you. But, it is better that way. Why would I want to be in control of my own life?….to destroy it?? I think not! Rather, I prefer to have Saint Mary and God Himself lead and guide me, since I know they will take care of me.
So, how does this all work out? What is an example of divine intervention in my life? Well, let me tell you of a trip that had God’s plan written all over it. It is a story of someone seeking God, and God responding to that person’s request to be found by Him, and to be used as His instrument.
Back in February, I attended a work-related conference in Granada, Spain. Since my trip was paid by an organization, I had to attend events that were sponsored by this organization. Consequently, some of those events conflicted with Sunday and Saturday Virgil Mass times. I was afraid I would miss mass. What happened?
I skipped the first part of the welcoming dinner on Saturday, since I had a gut feeling this would be the only time I could go to mass….However, on Sunday, the attendants and I that were funded through the organization went on a field trip to a nearby coastal town. In the middle of town, there was a Catholic Church, so I decided to check out the inside…….When I stepped inside, I saw everyone going up to receive communion. I debated whether or not to go receive Him, but something assured me to go ahead. Thus, I was able to receive Jesus on Sunday! What an amazing surprise and blessing!
The closer you get to God, the closer God comes to you. The more you seek Him out, the more He will seek you out. Usually, you will just “come across each other”. He will lead you to Himself. For example…..
On Friday, our group had to switch hotels. Once we arrived at the new hotel, we had to wait one hour before checking into our rooms. During this time, I decided just to walk around downtown, basically wandering not really seeking a place to go. I came across an indoor alley with stores, so I decided to look around. When I came out of the alley, I noticed a church nearby, so I went inside……Adoration was taking place! I found myself there for about 30 minutes adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament praying the rosary and enjoying some silence, before I headed back to the hotel to check in.
When you are led by God’s Will, He will put you in situations, where you have the opportunity to speak up about your faith. In Granada, Spain, I spoke about my faith to my fellow colleagues. I told them science and faith went hand and hand for me. Thus, science led me to seek God, and now God has become an essential part to my scientific career.
However, He will allow you to encounter people that need your help and prayers. Even if you feel you are not equipped, He will give you what you need to accomplish His Will. Let me explain. In Granada, I saw many people with signs stating they needed help, since they had children. I do not speak that much Spanish, but God used me of all people to reach out to the native people in Granada to ask if they needed food. So, I would grab fruit and croissants from breakfast, and hand them out to the poor. In addition, I did give some money and prayed for the poor that were sitting outside the churches.
So, that was Granada, Spain. Next stop….Paris, France. My mom and I had a “mini vacation” in Paris from Saturday until Wednesday, and her best friend joined us on Tuesday. Apostolic action occurred here….My mom and her best friend are not practicing Catholics, so Paris was the place for their exposure to the faith. On Sunday, I attended mass with my mom at the Notre Dame, which was wonderful!
A friend of mine prior to leaving for my trip, mentioned that I should go see the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal, where the incorrupt body of Saint Catherine of Laboure is located. I asked my mom if we could go, but she refused at first thinking it was way too far away to walk, and it was too expensive to get a taxi. However, I found that the chapel was not that far from the boat taxi stop, which was fairly cheap, so we planned on go on Monday after seeing the Eiffel Tower. But, it got too late to attend the chapel afterwards…….What was God up to? He wanted my mom’s friend to go as well, so He arranged it for all three of us to attend the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal on Tuesday. There I saw a door on the side of the chapel, so I decided to go in. Inside was a store selling miraculous medals, so I bought a packet of medals that I got blessed by a nun outside. Afterward, I thought best to give a medal to my mother and to her friend, and to have the Holy Spirit guide me to whom He wanted have the medals.
On Wednesday, my mom and I went our separate ways. I was headed on a plane to New York City, Charlotte, and then Charleston. That was my plan….not God’s plan…
The plane took off around noon, and we were smooth sailing until something went wrong. I noticed smoke coming out from a pipe on the plane’s left wing. I do not recall what exactly was wrong, only that if we did not go back to the airport, there could have been a potential plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Luckily, I got a night flight to New York City, and had a morning flight arranged to go directly to Charleston. The lady making the flight arrangement was dealing with a lot from the irate passengers. Seeing her effort to help everyone the best she could, I gave her a Miraculous Medal. She was deeply touched and said the medal was for the team.
So, one night stay and home? Nope! Bad snow storm…..Long story short. I was very fortunate to stay with my cousin, whom I have not seen since I was a child. I believe God arranged this “mini trip” to spend time with my cousin, to meet his son, and to put the thought into my cousin’s mind to come visit the family down south. The last time he visited us was back in 2007.
Other things I did were give a couple of Miraculous Medals to an employee at the Rockefeller Center that is also a musician, and a women I sat nearby in adoration at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.
So, was it God’s Will or my own? It was His Will being done, not mine. Yes, there are times I wonder if I am truly being led by God’s Will throughout the day, since I know that I am not perfect and do make mistakes. However, I have realized sometimes God allows things to happen so that a greater good can occur, or to help us become better versions of ourselves. We are like babies learning how the walk constantly falling, but Our Father is always there to pick us back up again. We need not to worry, all what we need is to trust Him, and to put our lives into His Hands.
I may have provided extraordinary examples, but even the small things throughout the day are marvelous. The point is to encourage you to try to say this simple prayer, and “Let Go and Let God”. Life is seen through a different perspective, when led by God’s Will, and gives you reassurance that God does indeed love you and is the Perfect Guide.
