The Gospels and spiritual writings of the Saints point out various practices of importance on the journey to God – The Road of Faith.
We are told to deny ourselves, forgive one another, carry our cross, fast and give alms. We must love our neighbor, pray for others, bring our needs to God in private and be peacemakers. All of these have their place and of course are important, but they may leave us confused. I find myself asking myself where I will find the strength to do all that is required. We end up being pulled in different directions and instead of finding peace, we become restless.
What a soul needs is a central idea, something so basic and simple, something comprehensive that encompasses everything else. Something that is a central hub from which everything else spins.
For me, that central focus is surrender.
St. Therese of Lisieux was totally fascinated by surrender. She wrote, “now abandonment alone guides me, I have no other compass! I can no longer ask for anything with fervor except the accomplishment of God’s Will in my soul.”
I’ve striven to figure out what surrender and abandonment means and more importantly, what it looks like in a life. I still continue the search for the full meaning and that ‘look’. But, one thing I have discovered is the more a soul seeks, the more the soul finds.
“ “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
Offer prayer and seek the Divine Will of God, give your fiat in the moment, in each new moment, and don’t sweat the big stuff (or, little stuff). Leave it to God to guide your soul to total abandonment. Just put one foot in front of the other and trust God. Soon, you may find yourself in a place of complete surrender that you didn’t plan for. After all, abandonment to God’s Will means giving it all to God, even the surrender, and just moving forward on HIS path.
“Jesus, I trust in You”