I had a potential near death experience last Wednesday. The aircraft that I was on veered upwards suddenly in the last seconds of landing, climbing the skies on whining engines. At no point did I think I was going to die although I was praying hard that we made the necessary altitude without mishap. We were literally carried on wings of prayer to finally land safely on the second pass down the runway.
This got me wondering how in my life I have had many of these near misses, and some I probably wasn't even aware of, and I am grateful for the protection that the Lord has always afforded me. My logic, this time around was, Jesus, you just gave me P, surely we would have more time as a couple before we are separated in this life? Let me live my dream a little while more. Plus, when my community prayed for me in my courtship days, C saw us growing old together, a couple of contented and blissed out senior citizens tending to our bonsai.
Ever since it became clear that P and I were to be married, I began to look again at the dream of marriage and motherhood given to me in 2003 with different eyes. Before I met P, I had thought I was realizing that dream in an alternative way, and I was not doing too badly either. Now I know that P is the man of my dreams, and I am amazed at how the Lord has fulfilled not just my dream, but P's as well.
Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph who, like the Joseph of the Old Testament, was a man to whom the Lord spoke in dreams. The angel of the Lord spoke to Saint Joseph four times, the first was to tell him of the divine nature of the child in Mary's womb, and for him to be husband to Mary and father to Immanuel, God is with us. It never fails to amaze me how Joseph "arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him". Such active faith. To hear and to obey without question. If only I were as obedient as Joseph to the Lord's prompting.
Coming back to dreams, God speaks to us, like Joseph, in dreams. Some may not be as immediate or urgent as Joseph's, received when we are asleep, but the dreams of our heart are there not by accident.
Dreams are planted inside each of us, waiting for us to have the courage to act like Joseph did. Dreams also require us to keep believing and persevering for we will need to struggle and put in much effort in order to make them real. Sacrifice is the stuff of dreams, but the rewards are inestimable. Dreams are the making of each of us, where we actualize our selves, become the great men and women we were created to be.
Now that I am living out my dream of marriage, I strive to make my marriage a dream come true, and that means to live with a heart full of gratitude, a joyful attitude, and a spirit ever willing to be transformed by the beauty of the mundane. The ordinary days are filled with tiny miracles waiting to be discovered, quiet yet extraordinary moments. Often we blink, and miss them, or we are too distracted to even notice them when they are staring us in the face.
As I live out my marriage covenant daily, I am reminded of how it is first a covenant I honour with Jesus, then with P. This, then, allows me to live out the words of the prayer of generosity by Saint Ignatius of Loyola with greater conviction:
Lord, teach me to be generous,
to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to look for any reward,
save that of knowing that I do your holy will.
Today, as a dear sister of mine takes the step to legalize her marriage with the man God has put in her life, I rejoice, and I pray that she and M will continue to make the dreams that God has placed within their hearts come true. In that way, they will walk even closer to God, as P and I are doing. Much happiness forever, dear A and M. AMDG.
This got me wondering how in my life I have had many of these near misses, and some I probably wasn't even aware of, and I am grateful for the protection that the Lord has always afforded me. My logic, this time around was, Jesus, you just gave me P, surely we would have more time as a couple before we are separated in this life? Let me live my dream a little while more. Plus, when my community prayed for me in my courtship days, C saw us growing old together, a couple of contented and blissed out senior citizens tending to our bonsai.
Ever since it became clear that P and I were to be married, I began to look again at the dream of marriage and motherhood given to me in 2003 with different eyes. Before I met P, I had thought I was realizing that dream in an alternative way, and I was not doing too badly either. Now I know that P is the man of my dreams, and I am amazed at how the Lord has fulfilled not just my dream, but P's as well.
Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph who, like the Joseph of the Old Testament, was a man to whom the Lord spoke in dreams. The angel of the Lord spoke to Saint Joseph four times, the first was to tell him of the divine nature of the child in Mary's womb, and for him to be husband to Mary and father to Immanuel, God is with us. It never fails to amaze me how Joseph "arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him". Such active faith. To hear and to obey without question. If only I were as obedient as Joseph to the Lord's prompting.
Coming back to dreams, God speaks to us, like Joseph, in dreams. Some may not be as immediate or urgent as Joseph's, received when we are asleep, but the dreams of our heart are there not by accident.
Dreams are planted inside each of us, waiting for us to have the courage to act like Joseph did. Dreams also require us to keep believing and persevering for we will need to struggle and put in much effort in order to make them real. Sacrifice is the stuff of dreams, but the rewards are inestimable. Dreams are the making of each of us, where we actualize our selves, become the great men and women we were created to be.
Now that I am living out my dream of marriage, I strive to make my marriage a dream come true, and that means to live with a heart full of gratitude, a joyful attitude, and a spirit ever willing to be transformed by the beauty of the mundane. The ordinary days are filled with tiny miracles waiting to be discovered, quiet yet extraordinary moments. Often we blink, and miss them, or we are too distracted to even notice them when they are staring us in the face.
As I live out my marriage covenant daily, I am reminded of how it is first a covenant I honour with Jesus, then with P. This, then, allows me to live out the words of the prayer of generosity by Saint Ignatius of Loyola with greater conviction:
Lord, teach me to be generous,
to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to look for any reward,
save that of knowing that I do your holy will.
Today, as a dear sister of mine takes the step to legalize her marriage with the man God has put in her life, I rejoice, and I pray that she and M will continue to make the dreams that God has placed within their hearts come true. In that way, they will walk even closer to God, as P and I are doing. Much happiness forever, dear A and M. AMDG.
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