Today is the feast of The Presentation,
a feast day that I love.

I think of Mary
going to the temple
with her precious baby
and presenting her Baby Jesus
to God.
In doing so,
Mary was saying, “Yes” to God
again.
And on this feast day
I always try, in my own way,
to say “Yes” to God.

I love The Presentation
and yet, if I’m totally honest,
I have to admit
that I find this feast day
a wee bit scary.

On this day five years ago
I knelt in prayer
at Mass in Hannahstown
and said to My God,
“Lord,
whatever your plans are for me,
go on ahead –
it’s OK with me.”

The next morning
as I stood in our kitchen
getting ready to do a school run
I felt a tickle in my throat
and in that instant I knew
that I was going to lose my voice.

I was right.
My voice started to fail
and finally disappeared
a fortnight later.
It didn’t fully return
for three long months.

I was forced to stop work
and I struggled through
some very long, dark days.

And yet, towards the end,
I was able to see
the hand of My God
in all of this.

Looking back,
I think that, in my illness,
My God was giving to me
the precious gift
of time –
time to be by myself,
time to be with Him,
time to simply be.

I look back on that time
as a blessing in disguise.

And so, this morning,
on the feast of The Presentation,
I find myself once again, saying,
“Lord,
whatever your plans are for me,
go on ahead –
it’s OK with me.”

What else can I say?
This is scary
but this is My God –
how can I resist Him?

© Claire Murray, 2/2/16