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Messages from Everywhere
by Catie Gosselin
I used to believe that the Divine spoke only through burning bushes to
men living thousands of years ago, or to innocent children in Fatima. I
was brought up in a devout home and taught to pray but never expected a
reply on the other end. Prayer meant reciting lines from a weekly mass
that made no sense and then ask for something. ('If I say enough
rosaries, can I please get a Malibu Barbie??') It never worked. I never
felt better afterwards, and I never got a reply. After awhile it seemed
a meaningless activity; speaking empty words to someone that either
wasn't listening or could care less.
The death of my mother when I was still very young cemented the notion
that I was on my own. There were no winged Angels sweeping down to bring
me to a Donna
Reed nuclear family. Sink or swim, I was it.
It wasn't until years later, in my mid twenties, that I realized the
Divine was talking to me all along, just not in the way I expected.
Every now and then, when I needed it most, a friend, a co-worker, or a
sales clerk would happen to say just what I needed to hear at that
moment in my life. Out of the blue, my world stopped spinning for a
split second, and I experienced a moment of utter clarity of thought and
purpose.
I remember being in a particular desperate part of my life. It seemed as
if hope was long gone; days were about as dark as they could get.
Without warning, I received a package in the mail from my father. We
were not at all close, so that in itself could be considered a miracle.
The package contained a vibrant oil painting in shades of my favorite
colors; purples, blues, and greens. He enclosed a short note - 'use this
to brighten a dark corner'. I could almost feel a bolt of lightening
running through my entire body. Everything at that point was a dark
corner. My father was unaware of what was happening in my life, yet he
managed to remind me of my power of choice. I could stay where I was,
feeling miserable or make healthier choices for myself.
I choose to believe it was the Divine letting me know I only had to look
up to see that I never had been abandoned after all.
Once I stopped expecting a Charlton Heston-like figure to appear
surrounded by flocks of chubby babies with wings, messages poured in
from every possible source. Just last week, my son remarked that
'kindness is better than any present' as his brother opened a birthday
present. I don't know if anyone else in the room caught the remark, but
to a mother worrying whether her son enjoyed his birthday, it was a
symphony.
Rather than look to the heavens to find direction and purpose, we only
have to look around our own world. There is no thundering voice from the
Heavens, but there is a quiet, persistent whisper whenever we open our
Hearts and accept the sound.
copyright 2001
About the author:
Catie Gosselin's WomanLinks.com
is a supporting, empowering community for all women. Catie is the
homeschooling mother of two, a wife of 12 years, and she lives in
Massachusetts.
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