"Take my body Jesus
my eyes, my ears, my tongue,
never let them Jesus
help to do Thee wrong.
Take my heart and fill it
full of love for Thee,
all I have I give Thee.
I give myself to Thee."
"Take my body Jesus
my eyes, my ears, my tongue,
never let them Jesus
help to do Thee wrong.
Take my heart and fill it
full of love for Thee,
all I have I give Thee.
I give myself to Thee."
I was recently asked to
share a statement of my faith testimony and I wondered where do I start.
The fact that I was brought up in a Christian home certainly gave me
my foundation for my love of God. For my parent's part, my Christian walk
began when they brought me for Baptism into the family of Jesus Christ. I
recall that at a very young age our parents taught us a little prayer that
had a profound effect on me. That prayer is quoted just below the picture
of Jesus. It was part of my formation in my walk with Jesus and I really
don't remember any time in my life when Jesus was not a part of living.
Another prayer I grew to love was our Guardian Angel prayer as
follows:
Two more prayers that have had a truly positive influence on my life are "The Our Father" and "The Hail Mary." Just as so many people often ask each other for prayers, I realized at a young age that I could ask Jesus and Mary to pray for me and those I love. Some people wonder why Catholics ask Mary to pray for them, but I believe that since Mary was the Mother of Jesus and loved Him dearly, He is sure to consider her prayers for us. The bond of love that Jesus and Mary share with us was not broken with their deaths, any more than the bond of love is broken that we share with our family and friends who go on before us. My love for my father lives on still, over thirty-six years since he was called home to the Lord.
My faith journey is a continuing process and central to the process was
receiving my First Communion. I remember clearly when I first received
Holy Communion and Jesus
came to live within me in a new and ever more precious way. This was
not an entirely positive experience for me because I got sick from
having to fast for so many hours before we received Holy Communion.
However, I now felt more fully included in the family of God because I
could receive Communion with my mother and father and older brother
and sister every time we attended mass.
In the Roman Catholic faith when I was young, we made our confirmation of
faith at
about 10 -12 years of age. At this time the Bishop asked us if we
wanted to become soldiers for Jesus Christ, to fully accept Him as our
Lord and Savior and walk with Him throughout our lives. We made this
committment in faith, perhaps not fully
understanding what we were committing ourselves to do. Nevertheless, I
learned from this experience that no matter what challenges we would face
in life, God would always be with us. There may be times when we think
that God has deserted us, but I believe that it is we who fail to
recognize His presence in our lives at these times.
The first really great test of faith for me came when our father died
at a young age, leaving our mom with seven young children to care for.
Times were tough and I often wondered if we would get through the challenges
that we faced in the months and years ahead. I did not always live up
to God's ways I'm sure, but I never failed to ask for His help and
guidance in my life. In looking back I can see that God was always
watching over us, bringing good people into our lives to help us along the
way. Throughout the challenges we faced I grew to love the following
scripture verse:
"Come to Me all you who are heavy burdened and I will give you
rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and humble
in heart and you will find rest for your souls." - Matthew 11:28-29
I have been blessed with the help and guidance of many special people
throughout my life and certainly since 1976 when I first started having
symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis, God has blessed me with increased faith
and trust in His unconditional love for us. The challenge of MS tested my
faith and for a time I felt like God was somewhere off in the distance,
even when I prayed for Him to be with me. In June of 1980 a severe health
crisis resulted in a very profound experience for me and my life has
never been the same since. From this time on I knew that we all must do
our share to help spread God's love to one another.
Some of the details of my journey with MS are outlined on another page My Story if you care to read more
of the
challenge I faced over the next few years. At this time God was certainly
working in my life to bring me into a closer relationship with Him. In
1986 my husband and
I joined the Cursillo Community. Ivan was the first to go on a Cursillo
weekend and then a few weeks later I experienced the weekend. On
this weekend my faith journey took a giant leap as I opened my heart
to trust that God would look after me no matter how MS challenged me.
I fondly recall singing the hymn, "Here I am Lord." I was moved to
tears with the powerful sense of God's closeness to me at that moment
and I've never forgotten that experience. It is among one of the most
precious in my lifetime.
A few years later I began writing poetry and I would like to share some of my most spiritual poems with you here. Perhaps reading them will give you a greater understanding of why God has led me here to share with you now.
The Shadow(Multiple Sclerosis)
One
|
The Lord
is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quite waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness, For His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley
Thou dost prepare a table before me; |
We can speak up for Jesus
In so very many ways
By a kindness shown, a gentle touch,
By all we do and say.
His Spirit within will guide us
If we will only try,
To show love and respect for Jesus
For the glory of God on high.
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