First and foremost, thank you to ALL of you that messaged me letting me know that you were praying for me this weekend. At first it was a bit awkward as I could see that the wife of Neal’s friend was not truly informed that we were coming. Nice. 🙂 Having no issue just putting the obvious on the table, I asked her politely, “You weren’t brought into this decision of having us in for the weekend, I’m guessing?” She was truly a gracious and Godly woman and with just as much tenacity she smiled warmly and said, “No, but that is the way of my husband and I’m glad to have you guys here.” As women do, we bonded in that said and unsaid in that simple exchange.
As the men went off to golf we took the kids to the beach to go try our hand at snorkeling but it’s obvious mother nature is not interested in us enjoying the calm waters. We’ve been blessed to dodge many rain storms these past few days always getting in a few hours at the beach with some overcast sun , but because of the wind the waves are choppy and they draw in the sand making it appear just like the murky brown Galveston shore. Yeah. 🙁
At any rate, my new friend and I could not seem to finish one topic of conversation without quickly jumping to the next anxious to share our insights and questions as we came to realize we had so much in common. And soon she confided that she was weary about us coming this weekend, for fear that I might not be a Godly woman but then she gave that fear up to God and put trust in the fact that nothing happens by chance. She said when we walked in the house she was filled with a sudden peace and felt I was there for her, to have these conversations we were having (and continued to have till 2:30am!). I let my guard down and was honest with her about my apprehensions as well and why I had them in regards to her husband (in a respectful way of course). Only God could cause us to be so candid with one another after being in each others presence only 2 hours!
We did end up attending their church service and, in my opinion, it was a lot like going to a Friday night performance of a Steubenville conference and ending it before having the reverence of the exposition of the Eucharist and adoration. It was a nice tribute to our country and the pastor gave a great talk about the history of God being behind the make up of our freedom. This morning we went to Mass at Holy Redeemer in Palm City, Florida and Fr. Murphy (who is from Ireland) also gave a great homily on the blessing we have been given to live in America and how important it is to always be cognisant of our freedom and many blessings. He pointed out how loyal Jesus was to Jerusalem and out of the two times that he ‘wept’ in the Bible the first was for his friend Lazarus and the second was for his people in Jerusalem. He said we needed to make sure we stood up for our country to keep it under GOD.
God is always full of surprises and I certainly didn’t expect to have the humbling experience that I did this weekend and the pleasure of making a new friend. Funny thing is, I was in conversation with the husband b/c his wife and I were so intent on continuing all that we needed to say! 🙂
Today is the 4th of July, Independence Day and I can proudly say that I am so humbled that God chose me to be born to a family that was already living in freedom in the United States. And I can also say that I am grateful and in debt to Him for allowing me to be FREE under His sovereign reign.
God Bless America! 🙂
Blessings
Shannon