Youth Apostles Online
Newsletter for Catholic Teens : July 2003
Contents:
Trusting God is Hard
Prayer: Trust Him
Trusting God is Hard
Dear Friends,
When you're trying to make a big decision (like how to approach dating and relationships, or what college you should go to, or what type of career path you should pursue), and you're making a great effort to pursue God's will on that decision, do you ever feel like God is not holding up His side of the deal? You are trying to be faithful to Him, and give your life to Him, but it seems like He's forgotten you? Does it ever make you want to give up on doing it His way, and just be like everyone else? I know I've felt like that plenty of times.
Don't ever believe the lie that God doesn't care about you or that He's forgotten you. The world promises us immediate results: "Have it your way right away!", while God's timing is often much slower. The rewards for being patient and waiting on Him, instead of relying on the world to satisfy us, are incomparable!
I have a quick little story to share with you that I hope will give you some encouragement. My husband and I have been looking for houses to buy for about a year now. At the beginning of the process, I said to myself, "God is going to provide for us! He will choose a house for us that delights us, while allowing us to be prudent with our finances. I trust in Him!" Even though I have a weakness for big, exalted houses, I convinced myself that I would be happy and content with a small modest house, as long as it was one that Jesus had picked out for us! :) After all, He knows our needs and wants better than we do, right?
Near the end of our year of searching, that confidence started to fade. We looked at house after junky house in our price range, and I became a little bit depressed. Did God forget us? Maybe He really didn't care about material things like a house. And then my contentment with a small house started turning into jealousy. When I drove by big beautiful houses that I knew we couldn't afford, I started coveting them and feeling sorry for myself (I know, I'm stupid!).
Amidst the despair and discontentment, I still continued to pray: "Lord, help my doubtful, impatient heart to trust in you." Then, it happened. God made it undeniably clear to us that He was in control the whole time and that He was taking care of us. When we were on our way home right after we looked at yet another junky house, we just happened to see a "For Sale By Owner" sign. We turned down the street, and to make a long story short, we fell in love with this house from the moment we saw it. As we walked in the door, I thought for sure that it would be way out of our price range, but we soon realized that the asking price was our ideal price! Detail after detail about the house and the seller had God's fingerprints all over them. We knew that He had prepared this house and this moment for us... and we're moving in at the end of next month!
I know that many of you probably aren't thinking about buying houses right now in your life, but maybe you are thinking about a future spouse, hoping that God will provide someone of his choosing. Or maybe you're desperately trying to discern what college to go to, or what to major in. You really want to seek His will above all else and trust in Him completely, but maybe it feels like He's not there. Take courage, and be of good faith, that good things come to those who wholeheartedly seek to honor God with their decisions. Keep praying and doing your part and He will provide for you in a way that is so much better than anything you could have done on your own. And be sure to check out the beautiful prayer about trust below.
Until next month, I remain...
Your Eucharist loving, Blessed Mother petitioning, rockin' Catholic Church obeying, Pope John Paul II devotee and fellow sinner in need of God's grace and mercy,
Michele TePas
Youth Apostles Online
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Prayer: Trust Him
Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,
Trust Him when thy strength is small,
Trust Him when to simply Trust Him
Seems the hardest thing of all.
Trust Him, he is ever faithful;
Trust Him, for His will is best;
Trust Him, for the Heart of Jesus
Is the only place of rest.
Trust Him, then, through doubts and sunshine;
All thy cares upon Him cast.
Till the storm of life is over
And the trusting days are past.
- Author Unknown
