A Beautiful Image

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In Mother Teresa Come Be My Light, Saint Teresa is quoted as asking Cardinal Picachy to pray for her.  In June of 1976 she asked: "Pray for me--that I keep my hand in His hand and walk all the way with Him alone."

It's a beautiful image.  Picture yourself walking hand in hand with Jesus.  Do you ever, like a small child, try to pull away and run from him, or do you walk alongside him, trusting him to guide your steps? 

When one of our daughters was young, we were shopping and she left my side.  I knew where she was because I had my eye on her, even though she thought she was hiding from me under the clothing rack.

Can we ever hide from Jesus?  Do you imagine that as you try to live your life without him, that he doesn't know where you are?  He always has his eye on us.  He is always looking for us. Waiting patiently.

Let's say you are living your life with him.  That you walk along, by his side, hand in hand.  What does his hand feel like?  Are you holding the rough hand of a working carpenter, or the soft, gentle hand of God?  Do you feel safe in his presence?  Are you okay not knowing where you are being led?

Saint Teresa felt a lot of loneliness throughout her years, but she remained faithful to her call to love Jesus.  She saw him as a light, burning within her.  Every suffering she endured. 

"Her long experience of darkness, her sense of rejection, her loneliness, the terrible and unsatisfied longing for God . . . she readily offered to God, to keep the lamp--the life of Jesus within her--burning, radiating His love to others and so dispelling the darkness."

Notice that as she accepted the sacrifices that came with her Christianity, and as the light within her radiated the love of Jesus to others, the terrible darkness she experienced lifted, just a bit.

Give yourself a few minutes to reflect on the image of walking hand in hand with Jesus, alone.  Hold this image in your mind. Whenever you are anxious or afraid, uncertain or discouraged, go back to this image and hold on tight, for he will never let you go.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com

 




 

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