Eighty-five years old, arm in arm with his wife of 40+ years Dr. Pat and his wife adorned bright yellow roses on their suit jackets as they stood and said goodbye to the many friends and fellow church members they’d incurred in the past 10 years. When I walked up to Dr. Pat he held out his arms and drew me into a tight embrace. “My dear friend,” he said. “We’ve had an adventure of these past few years haven’t we?” I backed up as he held on to my arms and saw the wisdom that carried me through the greatest challenge of my life – to learn to be bold and acknowledge that spiritual warfare was real.
Dr. Pat is the prayer partner God literally ‘gave’ me when I needed to be validated. I write about him in the book (under a different name) and he lived 5 houses up the street from me when we first were introduced. We would meet every two to three months to pray with one another, sharing in our turbulations and praises, connecting on a level that proved to be guided by the Holy Spirit. I called on Dr. Pat every time the enemy proved to be too near and once again I would doubt but Dr. Pat always validated and would pray with me. Now he is moving away to another city to be nearer to his great-grandchildren and family. He is turning a page to a new chapter in his life and I pray the Holy Spirit continues to guide and direct him. I will surely miss having him so near.
As much as I enjoy turning to a new chapter, there are times when I want to remain in the comfort and security of the current worn out chapter. These past few days have been overwhelming with God’s high fives I’ve laid awake at night in silent dialogue with Him, tight-chested and unable to breathe because His love is too much. I confided this to priest friend of mine and he said what I need to always hear, “It is not about you. It is about God’s message and how He is wanting it to be delivered.”
I get it. And as much as there is a ‘little part’ of me that is apprehensive to move forward onto the next page I realize if I were to stay in the same worn out chapter I would never get to the best part of all – the resolution and ending. 🙂 Fortunately (or unfortunately??) for me there might be a few more chapters to endure…possibly even the end of this book and the beginning of the sequel with it’s own new climax, resolution and final end.
Life is never dull unless you choose to remain on the same page reading the same line over and over again. Even last night I witnessed my husband turn the page to his own personal story. He asked me out on a date (he hasn’t done this in 14 years), hired a car to drive us into Houston so we could share a bottle of wine without worry, made reservations at Pappa’s Steakhouse (our favorite restaurant) and then watched a chick flick with me. Now, I realize what you are thinking (ulterior motive)…maybe, I mean he IS a man… but I can assure you we had the most wonderful date and basked in the joy of recognizing that even in our marriage, we are on a ‘new page’ and it’s a good thing. Thank God we didn’t stay behind and decide to throw the book away! 😉
Oh and an update on the Catholic Book of the Year award voting…I’m in 2nd place so far. FAR BEHIND the Homeschool book. Remember you can vote more than once a day! 🙂 Spread the word, the more ‘exposure’ EXPOSED gets, the better it is for the Maria Goretti Network and simply for all abuse survivors to learn to turn the page.
Blessings
Shannon