While our prayers may sometimes be answered with a YES or sometimes answered with a NO, they are always answered with Grace.
Over the last few days of July, the weather in Sydney was unseasonably warm. It was not warm enough that we thought we were in the peak of Summer, but one would be forgiven for thinking that we were living through the first few days of Spring, rather than the middle of Winter…
During those unseasonably warn days, I happened to look around the garden and notice that several of the trees in our garden had started to sprout new buds as they would in the springtime.
Now those buds were early and because there were so few of them on the trees that were otherwise barren of leaves and life, I found them utterly charming and beautiful!
And I have been reflecting on those buds today because when I saw them, they reminded me of the merits of suffering.
You see, when we suffer anything in this earthly life, that suffering is like the trees devoid of leaves in the wintertime. And like those trees, we cannot see any way forward and cannot possibly imagine the leaves that will fill the trees over the spring to shade us from the sun in the summertime. In fact, while those trees are devoid of leaves, it even becomes difficult to remember the heat of the Summer sun and the warmth of Summer weather. And that is much like the feeling a soul experiences during periods of terrible suffering.
When a person is sick and suffering – even unto death – it can be very difficult to remember the good times and the blessings that they have experienced in their life. And for those souls it can often feel as though they are living through the wintertime as trees devoid of leaves…
And yet, as we pray for those souls, they Graces from our prayers become like the buds on the trees. And while our prayers may sometimes be answered with a YES or sometimes answered with a NO, they are always answered with Grace. And those buds on those trees in the middle of Winter are like the Graces that a soul receives in the midst of suffering, because they are a reminder of the wonders to come – the rewards of Eternal Life.
And I have been thinking about that today. Because I have been remembering how important it is to pray for souls who are suffering. Because whether our earthly prayers are answered with a yes or a no, they will ALWAYS be answered with Grace. And that Grace is the whole point anyway.
You see, this life is so fleeting. And that means that even the greatest tragedy will be fleeting – even if it lasts the entire length of our earthly lives. And if the reward for that tragedy – the comfort for it – is Grace, which we can only see as those tiny little buds on the tree. Well, then in eternity the fruits will be great and the suffering will be well rewarded.
And I have been thinking about that today, while I remember the buds!
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.