A Lesson in Trust

Posted by: L.E.S. on: May 12, 2014

• In: Everyday Life | Faith
• 1 Comment

This past weekend, after weeks of preparation, my parish church got a thorough cleaning. And I got a lesson in trust.

I mentioned in an April post that some parishioners had noticed cobwebs and dust that needed taking care of—and that led us to wonder what else needed doing. I asked my husband to bring this to our Pastoral Council, and the Council approved a clean-up day. Which I ended up organizing and preparing for.

Secretly, I’m sure my husband and my son were grateful I wasn’t organizing and preparing for a clean-up of our garage or basement storage areas.

In any case, I thought I had things under control. I e-mailed lots of people about cleaning out closets in the parish hall. I put notices in the announcements and in the bulletin for several weeks and posted sign-up sheets.

The closets didn’t get cleaned out. Only seven people signed up to help. And then two of those people couldn’t come owing to other commitments.

I spent weeks stressed out, making repeated trips to the church to sort, purge and clean, and I wondered how I’d get everything done. At the same time, I was stressed out by being on the receiving end of some harsh e-mails about a church project.

I should have known better and had a little faith in God’s timing and plans. Because, in the end, it did all come together.

On Saturday morning, I arrived at the church early to set up. I realized that just clearing up some of the storage spaces in the parish hall made the clean-up a success. But I still wondered how many people would show up.

Thanks to my husband’s update on the project to Pastoral Council and an e-mail sent by a parishioner who supported me throughout the process, I found myself with nine helpers. And together, we accomplished more than I could have hoped. In just five hours, we demolished dust bunny colonies in nooks and crannies of the church, vacuumed rugs, washed floors, polished pews, and changed light bulbs.

My love of dusting shines through…

Back at home, refreshed after a good shower to wash away the dust and fortified by a simple but tasty lunch, I realized three things:

• First, I should have trusted that God would provide what was needed—in this case, people power—if this was something he wanted to happen. As Mother Teresa said, “God hasn’t called me to be successful. He’s called me to be faithful.”

• Second, I should have leaned on God and prayed more for his help instead of trying to make it all happen in my own strength.

The LORD is my strength and my shield;

in him my heart trusts;

so I am helped, and my heart exults,

and with my song I give thanks to him. (Psalm 28:7*)

• And third, no one can add stress to my life. I create my own stress by the way I respond to events and the things others say, and I need to remember this verse:

With the LORD on my side I do not fear.

What can man do to me?

The LORD is on my side to help me. . . .

The LORD is my strength and my song;

he has become my salvation. (Psalm 118:6-7a, 14)

May we remember to pray that our plans line up with God’s plans, to ask him to meet our needs, and to lean on him before stress gets the better of us.

(*Scripture quotes taken from the Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition.)

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Tags: Catholic, Christian, faith, God, religion, spring cleaning, trust