FROM A LOOK OF FAITH – Middia Doute, NJM
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not trust in your own prudence.
Recognize Him wherever you go in all your ways and He will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 RVC)
‘For the one who remains with Christ, nothing is lost’ Aware of this, I support myself on Him to discover every day to what He is inviting me to live, especially during these past days with the news of the arrival to the Father’s Home of two members of my family. I could not believe it, and I did not know how to face it, to overcome it, even though this is not the first time that I lose a family member.
I do not know how to express what I feel, I can only trust in God who will help me to understand and to overcome that which is hurting so much. To lose someone whom I love makes me feel as if a part of me is not present, missing, and even more so because we were not even able to say good bye to one another for the last time. Before this situation, I discovered that the only one who could understand me without speaking, as if He was a refuge where I can find complete peace, is the Lord. Before Him I do not need to speak, to look for words, I know that He will always be there, even if sometimes I do not have the strength to thank Him during these difficult moments.
For me, it is important to discover and to strengthen during this time of my life, my belonging to God, experiencing that I am His beloved daughter, and this is why I feel invited not to get away from His love, but to continue persevering and to continue being faithful to His invitations, knowing that I am not alone on the way, even in what I am living at present.
During these sorrowful days I have discovered Jesus Crucified, who assumed His suffering and pain until death and a death on the cross. I also experienced the merciful love of God the Father and the sanctifying help of the Holy Spirit who always helps me to go beyond my strength. In this process I can say to the Lord like the Virgin Mary: Fiat voluntas tua.
I clearly understood the importance of belonging to a religious family, to have other followers of God who support me with their prayers, their affection and mailed communication. I have realized that the family is larger when one feels supported and is able to count on others. When one goes alone on a long trip, very soon there is tiredness, fatigue, but if several travel together, they walk with enthusiasm.
My gratitude for all the support received from each one of you; especially from the Sisters of the Province USA-Haiti for being so close to me and attentive to me. Being for someone who is in the darkness of life is the more concrete sign of friendship and the fulfilment of the new commandment of Christ: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. I truly experienced this with the closeness of each one of my Sisters at this time.
This double belonging to God and to the Community makes me see everything beyond my life, all events which are complicated or difficult which may happen. Like this, with a look of faith I thank God for everything that I get and which makes me grow and strengthens my relationship with Him. What is more important is to trust and keep God in the center and to recognize our limitations, knowing clearly that there are things, like the loss of a dear one, which do not depend on us.
At the end, I discover that one of the more important things is to accept myself, life, and others, which is still a challenge. And also to give myself time to pray and to live, with all my strength, the love which I feel within, sharing every day, even at a distance just as if it was the last one, with my dear ones, friends and Sisters in the community. Because of this experience, I value my relationships and I am aware that time goes by and I have to profit from it, and not lose it in what is not constructive.
