A work of art in progress,
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stage 1 moves from one stage to another |
like the good fight of faith,
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Stage 2 I have problems. |
You have problems. How we get through them shows us our progress in the good fight of faith. The fight is not with one another but with the principalities and powers of the air. The source of our problems are from another world. We cannot fight our problems with weapons from this world. They just don't apply.
Instead we must gather weapons offered from that other world. Considering how sophisticated is the intelligence of our enemy, we are no match for him. Our only real defense is a weapon forged by God Himself..our ability to pray. With that, he cannot compete.
Not all weapons are created equal. One stands above all others. According to Father John Corapi, who has fought in world wars himself, the greatest weapon we have against the devil is the Rosary! He holds it up to the camera like a flaming missile.
It has taken 64 years as a cradle Catholic for me to buy into this. But, as I have shown in my recent posts, I cannot deny its power - the 54 day novena has convinced me. I have seen such seemingly impossible turnarounds in my son and daughter's lives and characters that the rosary has my whole heart and has lifted me into a new stage of faith.
My test of faith came when the phone rang for my husband a second time. He addressed my son heatedly, f-bombs flying. I was on the deck nestled by a cathedral of pines, working on a painting of a lake scene. I swallowed hard, my heart pounding. What now? Visions of impending disaster! Yet, I was able to..just sit still, and keep on painting.
How was I able this time to keep my sticky fingers off the heat? I know it was the power of the novena kicking in. Mary, who loves me as family, was helping. Just like at the wedding feast, when she cared even about the possible embarrassment of her host running out of wine, Mary now whispered to steward of my soul, Do what He tells you. (He has skills..wait and see)
I did exactly that. A few hours later, my son called back; he had handled everything himself. From the sunny deck, I heard my husband praising my son for his competence. Because I did what He told me - nothing - I was able to make progress in my painting, enjoy the afternoon, and avoid a blowout with my husband.
I amazed myself and my daughter who witnessed the drama in that, for the first time, I could leave the cleanup of a boiling pot between my son and husband, to Mary, who gave it back to her son, Jesus. Problems were solved, and the real bonus was that my son grew in self-reliance and my husband was given the opportunity to acknowledge him for his self-reliance.
I am shedding the thin skin of a worrier for the thick armour of a warrior. And I am doing so, mystery by mystery, bead by bead.
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| Stage 3, unfinished Today, I noticed some progress. When tempted to worry, I just kept right on painting... |
