Tiffany B. Mack – Founder of A.S.K.
We arrived. We set up. We are ready to promote the good news of our ministries- A.S.K., HOPEFUL HEARTS MINISTRY, and the Maria Goretti Network. And along the way receive surprise graces from God.
I’ll admit, today was a day that I knew to hand over to God from the moment I turned the corner from my friend’s home in Frisco and landed in stopped traffic. “Patience,” I sighed and prayed for the unforeseen graces. I don’t do well when I enter into something new and since I’ve never participated in a trade show before and wasn’t certain I was the right ‘fit’ for the conference section either it took the extra 30 minutes of traffic to pray my way through the anxiety that began to edge up my spine.
Turns out there was nothing to be anxious about. The set up was done in no time and the graces poured in through the sessions as speakers such as Lisa Hendey, founder of Catholicmom.com answered questions I’d been having in regards to utitilizing social media for the ministry.
At lunch we received a complimentary copy of “BibleBasicsforCatholics“>Bible Basics for Catholics” by John Bergsma which was perfect because it explains the old testament with ‘kid gloves’ which is exactly what I needed, especially considering I have the assignment of teaching the first chapter of Genesis in our parish’s bible study in a few weeks.
However, as there is always an abundance of grace there seems to be those little minute moments of discourse that though minute they threaten to throw off the grace balance.
I sat in on a final session after lunch and realized that the rest of the day was geared more toward retail stores. It was only 2pm and I knew that I had to make a decision in regards to traveling back to my friend’s and getting in at a decent hour, missing out on Immaculee Ilibagiza’s talk and, of course, Mass. But I knew that I couldn’t sit for three hours and it lent for me to spend some time with an old friend and her family.
The discourse didn’t come until the moment I was in my car and about to head out of Ballpark Way when I made the wise decision to turn into the hotel for one last potty break. As I headed up the stairs I saw Immaculee speaking with some exhibitors and my heart started to race. Here was my chance! I could tell Immaculee that her book “Left to Tell” not only inspired and encouraged but gave me the validation I needed to be bold with my own story of spiritual warfare in EXPOSED. When I finished reading “Left to Tell” I wrote in my journal that I was going to get to meet her one day.
Here was the day. But I couldn’t do it. I went to the bathroom and came back out hoping God would have made some miraculous gesture to move the exhibitors away from her so I could slip in without seeming like an overly zealous fan or stalker. No such luck. They were still in the midst of discussion so I walked on by, went back to my car and dealt with my emotional stupidity as I sat in stopped traffic once again.
Tomorrow is a new day and as my spiritual advisor said, “God said it was good after creating creatures on the fifth day but not after creating man – because we are still a work in progress.”
Looking forward to an early morning Mass tomorrow and to many more unexpected graces! If you are at CMN 2012 come see me at Booth #505 and enter for a chance to win a FREE SIGNED COPY OF EXPOSED.
Blessings
Shannon