Listen.............God is Talking

Today I received a call from a new friend of mine, who also happens to be a frequent reader, if not commenter here. She was going to be in town and was going to stop by for a visit. This was wonderful news and I was very pleased to have heard from her. She is a beautiful person and does so much for my soul when she's near. I truly believe that some friends are brought together not by worldly circumstance, but by the greater intentions of God. This friend is this type of friend-----a Godly one.

So, if I was going to be blessed with company, I had a lot of work to do in a short time. Too bad I wait until company is to arrive before I clean the house. I have a favorite item, pictured above, that sits on my mantle. It is an arrangement of three women, gathered in prayer, with the scripture, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them". As I was cleaning the mantle, decluttering and dusting, I noticed that one of the women was turned away from the group. This made me immediately stop and take notice------not only of the woman turned away, but of the state of my soul. As I stood there, dust cloth in hand, reflecting on this woman, I began a conversation with God.
"Yes, Lord, that is me. I have turned away from you for way too long. I neglect my time with you. Please, forgive me. I will be a better woman. I'm sorry I've been so far from you."
These feelings came because of my guilt, I guess. I used to be so diligent---reading the Gospel daily, daily Mass, Rosary, Adoration. Then I had two children 12 months apart and my world changed. I had no time for daily Mass and was so tired that I'd fall asleep during my prayers. Then, what was once daily routine became things that were done few and far between, and a Rosary here and there is not quite cutting the mustard.
Finally, the house was clean and I'd had my shower. I sat down at this computer to check my email. There were no comments from any bloggers on my email, so I checked my husband's email--------this is an address that we used to share and I still get some emails there. Now, you have to understand something. Everyday, on both of the email addresses, I receive two emails that contain the daily Gospel. One is from "The Daily Gospel" and one is from "Regnum Christi." Since I'd seen that woman facing away on the mantle, and I saw that I had an email containing the Gospel, I chose to open up the email from Regnum Christi. The Gospel today was Luke 10:1-9. I read it and then read the reflection that the priest had written about today's Gospel. Now, remember, I could have opened any other email today. I could have opened the one from "The Daily Gospel", but I didn't. As I was reading this reflection, here is what was written, "The Lord sent the 72 in 'pairs.' They doubled up. Why? There may be several reasons for us to reflect on. First, Jesus goes with them and, indeed, goes with us when we do his work in pairs: 'Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." WHAT??? Okay, Lord, I'm listening!! I had goosebumps and tears in my eyes. God is so good.
Who am I that God would come to me today with an open invitation to get back "in the good" with Him? Well, I don't know the answer to that, but I do know, especially after today, that I am not in control. I'm going to once again, release the wheel to the one that is actually steering the boat, and work to keep this ship afloat, sailing on the open abundance of the grace that is mine for the asking.