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Psalm 6:4 Psalm 25:6 Psalm 51:1
Back in my college days, I had a friend who I thought was the best friend I could ever ask for. But a while after I finished college, things started to change. She was calling me a lot, started saying things that didn’t make a lot of sense, and wanted to isolate me from my family, my friends, and things that I loved. I wasn’t really sure what was going on, but I played along, all the while thinking in the back of my mind that something was wrong. Eventually, my parents staged an intervention, changed my number, and told me to cut off all ties with my friend.
But in spite of what my parents said, in spite of the fact that she was partially responsible for my anxiety attacks, in spite of the fact that I knew she was leading me away from God, I still wanted to go back to my friend. What ultimately made me decide to keep my distance from my friend took place one rainy afternoon on the road home from Austin, Texas. I was in the car waiting for my parents while they were checking out a thrift store. I missed my friend so much that I took out my phone. I stared at it, wondering if I should call her.
“My soul too is shuddering greatly and you, Lord, how long?” Psalm 6:4
All of a sudden, I had this vision. In my mind, I saw myself clinging to the Cross, holding onto it desperately. Then my friend appeared from out of nowhere and dragged me away from the cross. I was kicking and screaming, telling her to let me go, but she didn’t care. I saw this vision before, the day that my parents told me that I had to cut myself off from my friend, but for some reason, seeing it a second time gave me that resolve, that willpower to stay away from her.
I’m not gonna sugarcoat this experience and say that I changed overnight and eventually reconciled with my friend. I will say that one of the first things I did was get my life back together by turning to my community for help. I started by asking God for His forgiveness and by praying a lot. Through His Divine Mercy, I found healing, strength, confidence, and so much more.
But I never would’ve gotten to where I am now if it wasn’t for that prayer in my heart on that cold rainy day, asking God for His strength.
Let’s all continue to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, fellow sisters in Christ, and offer up our hardships past and present to Him.
