That word looks kind of big and lonely up there. Change is a word that immediately instills an emotion. Could be hope, fear, longing, excitement... it has a way of affecting people.
Change is inevitable. The question on my heart is how to discern the Will of God through change. What change is best for me? How many things in my life need to change? If God's will is for my good, shouldn't any and all changes make me happy?
Okay, before I get carried away with questions here, let's talk about the theme. How does a person (like me) discern the will of God?
My mother always takes us to scripture. I tend to bury my heart in the psalms and let the prudence of Holy Church speak to me through the rhythm of the Liturgy fo the Hours. It's amazing how something written so long ago, before Christ even walked the earth can hold so much bearing on life today. Filled with the angst of life on earth and the hope of a lover, waiting for his journey to eternal life. I always find it telling to my situtation, which psalms resonate in my heart. Am I being surrounded by my enemy and betrayed by a friend? Am I lost in a barren land? Am I a slave, begging deliverance? Am I a soldier, fighting for my king? Am I signing a song of victory? And that's just the psalms, don't get me started on St. Paul's letters or the Gospel of St. John.
Another means is to use the fruits of the holy spirit as a guide. Does this decision fill me with peace? Does it enable me to better hope in fortitude, and trust in abandonment? My best friend, whom I've known and loved since I was 8, is getting married. Before I even met her fiance, I knew he was the one. There was an overwhelming peace about her and all she did (there still is) that being with her fiance makes her more who she was made to be. It's a beautiful thing.
Receiving counsel is another means to know if a decision is God's will. It doesn't have to just be from a spiritual director, although definitely seek out their opinion! God places wise people in our lives, people who know and love us, and also want what's best for us. Sometimes these friends can see the tree in the middle of the forest. I am blessed with both caring friends and a loving and supportive family, who isn't afraid to ask the hard questions.
These are a few of what I would deem to be the normal means to dsicover of God's Will.
I was thinking the other day and I would like to propose a maybe more non-conventional means. Often times what I neglect to accept is that living God's Will for my life is hand-in-hand with my cross. Rather, the cross He wishes me to carry. (Exhibit A: I'm still single! Definitely did not choose this cross for myself.) So, sometimes to follow God's will is accompanied by a certain fear of the unknown. From someone who lives her life in transition, I am still afraid of fear. Still afraid that the cross God has chosen for me will be too much to bear. Fear is such a human reaction. There's nothing wrong wtih this human reaction, the key is to move past that reaction into a divine trust in God's Will.
This point, where we step off the ledge into the uknown of God's Will, is that final stage of discernment. To take our prayer, counsel and discernment into action, trusting that God's plan will sustain you, even in the face of the Cross.
Lord help me embrace my cross!
