At breakfast yesterday morning Alina and I were talking about praying, especially in adoration, and having so much trouble really being present in prayer since there are so many things and people on our minds. It really is so hard to trust God with EVERYTHING, not only spiritual things, but material things as well, especially those that are in your control and that you think it is good for you to worry about (cough cough…our apartment…cough cough) Really, in the end the control you think you have over all these things and the thoughts that are running through your head really weigh you down and they keep you from being completely surrendered to trusting in God for EVERYTHING and truly being present in prayer and working on your relationship with God. Talking about all of this, Alina shared with me something she had read the night before in a book by Catherine de Hueck (if you don’t know who she is, look her up…her story is amazing!) and I want to share the beautiful image with you. Anyone, who like me, has a lot of trouble surrendering everything to God and completely trusting in Him with spiritual and material things alike, will hopefully benefit from this…
Catherine describes herself climbing in the mountains. She is equipped with all the necessary climbing gear and many layers of clothing as she is high in the mountains where it is cold. But as she continues to climb, she feels so weighed down by all that she is wearing and carrying and she must start taking things off and leaving things behind in order to continue the climb. First her jacket, gloves and hat, then her vest, then her backpack…so on and so forth…and with each layer she feels a little more of the cold, but at least she can still continue to climb. Without leaving these things behind, she would have to stop her climb because the weight was too much for her. She continues to take off layer upon layer, and leave behind belonging after belonging until she is left with only her shoes on her feet! Yet, she reaches a point in which she sees the summit but she cannot go any further; her shoes are too heavy. Of course, she doesn’t want to take them off…the mountain is rocky and ridden with crags, not to mention she will get into the snowy part of the peak soon. Her shoes are made for hiking and climbing; they are of good quality and cost a pretty penny. She doesn’t understand why they are hindering her so much if this is what they were made for! She knows she cannot continue with the shoes on, for she cannot lift her foot to take another step, but she also doesn’t understand how she can continue without the shoes with the climb that still lay ahead of her. And she has already given up everything else; she is already completely naked! While she struggles greatly with this decision, she knows that she cannot turn back—she must reach the summit. So, with no other option, she takes off her shoes, and as she cautiously takes the next step…she begins to fly.
beautiful, right?
well, you’ll never believe what happened later that afternoon!
After breakfast, Alina and I had different schedules of things to do and meetings with different friends in the city, so we parted ways for the afternoon and evening. When she arrived home later that night, of course I asked her how she was and how her day was, to which she just looked at me with a smirk and said…”Ich habe keine Schuhe.” (Translation: I have no shoes”) I looked down and indeed the shoes she was wearing were not her own. Her FAVORITE shoes had been stolen at the swimming pool she had taken some children to that afternoon.
...and no…she didn’t get to fly home.
Update on the apartment:
Apartment: We are still living with Monika but we have the key to the apartment. Through the amazing generosity of people we both know and don’t know at all we have already been given…silverware and kitchen utensils, a bed, a mini couch thing, a loveseat, a chair, a kitchen table, a few bed linens and towels, plates, mugs, classes, and even two vases! Oh and, a darling old lady has befriended us at the church we go to for 8am mass on MWF. The other day we were leaving the church, and ran into her bringing in a large, old painting of Mary and the Child Jesus. Really a beautiful painting although it has some gauges and scrapes so it definitely isn’t in great condition. She found it next to someone’s garbage cans on the street as she was walking to mass, so she picked it up and brought it to the church to see if they wanted it. We carried it for her to the church secretary who said she had no space for the painting and it was in bad condition, so our friend gave it to us! Yes, its not in the best condition, but it definitely has potential so we have given Mary and Jesus a home! We will get to cleaning tomorrow or the beginning of next week…we have so much to do, especially considering the very clean standard we have to meet of the Austrian people we are living amongst and will invite to our apartment. The kitchen and bathroom still need to be renovated (we’re not sure what that consists of or who is going to do it), but we are hoping we can get everything else cleaned up. It’s a little overwhelming, so keep us in your prayers
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