Power to Trust

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverb 3:5

I recently had the privilege of writing a review/study for a chapter in a fabulous book called My Sisters the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir, by Colleen Carroll Campbell. I was assigned Chapter 3 in the book called Trust Fall.  The assignment for CatholicMom.com caused me to do a lot of thinking about trust in my own life so I thought I’d share my reflections with all of you too. 

 Our God is a God we can trust.  We can trust his love, his mercy, his forgiveness, his wisdom and his impeccable sense of timing and detail! Our God is a God of generosity, compassion and beautiful surprises all lavished splendidly on his faithful children.   I think God does his best work when we aren’t expecting it! I suppose he likes to catch us by surprise sometimes just to demonstrate he really can handle things perfectly without our planning or assistance.  I was reminded of that fact so many times throughout this book and I’m hopeful that the truth of it all might wash over me and actually stick!

In my early twenties there was a three year stretch of time when we buried my brother, my mother, my grandmother a 20 year old cousin and an uncle.  I truly did have some days when I questioned the mercy and wisdom of God during those three years.  I knew he had a plan and I knew he would reveal it to me if I remained faithful but there were struggles.  Out of the blue one day I got a phone call from an old boss encouraging me to apply for a job with the State Department of Education in Michigan.  I was a small town Kansas girl and had no desire to leave my family and my home.  There was too much healing that needed to be done. I couldn’t go anywhere because I thought my family needed me too much and after wading through three years of grief it was my job to put everybody back together.  Fueled completely by a desire to end the conversation I agreed to fax my resume that afternoon and I was certain that as soon as I hit the “send” button this whole ordeal would be forgotten. I remember a brief conversation with God as I tapped that green button in which I simply said, “Ok God, this is yours, but may I remind you I love Kansas and I don’t even know where Michigan is nor do I particularly care! I trust you Father.”  Two hours later I was on the phone scheduling an interview and buying a plane ticket for that interview which would take place five days later.  After the interview I hopped back on a plane and by the time my plane landed in Kansas City that evening they were calling to offer me the job.  I wanted to scream NO, but I kept hearing the words I had spoken just a few days earlier, I trust you God; now it was time to prove it.  Two weeks later I remember kissing my dad goodbye and telling him I’d be home in a year or two.  Little did I know my move and my trust would lead to an amazing husband, a fabulous family, twelve years home raising babies and in Gods perfect timing a finished Master’s degree and a job as a Catholic Elementary School teacher, speaker and writer living in Michigan.  Those things were NEVER on my to-do list and I continue to be overwhelmed daily by the graces and blessings that have flowed from trusting him with that one decision.  I had no idea life could ever be this incredible...but GOD did!

As we unpack the stories of truly trusting him, a fundamental truth is right there ready to jump up and punch us in the nose.  The words are simple and steeped in the mercy of Jesus…God can do anything he wants!  The question is; will we let him.

A Seed To Plant:  My Sisters The Saints  is a terrific book!  You can check out the book study going on over at CatholicMom.com and join others as they reflect and discuss the book.  We are bound together when we share our struggles and our successes this story is full of both!

Blessings on your day!