had attended adoration. He had also received the Sacrament of Confirmation. I never knew
all this was happening in his life but learning of it gave me ultimate peace.
I share my story which is only the tip of the iceberg so to speak, so I can also share that I
have learned, if the crosses we bear were not present in our lives, we would never become
the person God meant us to be. We have to allow others to experience their crosses so they
can mature sooner and not later. We are eager to aid which stops growth and eventual wisdom
and experience. God has a timeline and a plan for each person but it is on His time which, as
we know, is timeless in Eternity. God hears us without a doubt and He knows the future. I
would never have imagined my son would die before me but God knew and, without my
help, God readied Jim for Eternity in answer to my prayers. I will always believe that God
called Jim ‘Home’ when he was the closest to Him. I often wonder, if my son had lived,
would he have fallen away again due to the crisis our beautiful Church is undergoing. Who
knows but God! Jim died of sudden cardiac arrest, so his death was sudden and immediate.
Through reading much about Purgatory, I learned that the average person who makes it
there, spends 30 to 40 years and some to the end of time. I have decided to make it my life’s
work to pray constantly in my thoughts, words and deeds for the Souls there, who are being
purified. I believe my son to be one of them having spent over 35 years turning his back to
God. The ache in my heart will not die, so I will use it for good.
I have no answers, but I know God hears me and I totally trust Him. I have no idea what
will happen to my two daughters, but I also know they need to open their heart and let
God’s Love in. He will give them the grace but will they accept? I will never stop praying
for them but I have learned to let God in His Wisdom to work it out. Our God is a total
gentleman and He never forces Himself on anyone. Continue to be the good example, I am
sure you are, and always keep your son in prayer. God loves our children more than we ever
could, because they were His first. Please remember that you may not see the result of your
prayers in this life. My maternal grandmother prayed for her wayward son for what seemed
like a lifetime and it wasn’t until after she died that he returned to the church. GOD HEARS
YOU but you can bet that Satan will do everything he can to convince you otherwise, that
w ay he can rob you of any peace and joy in your life. Don’t let Satan win.
Let me assure you that I did not start my life’s journey to Eternity with the mindset that I
have arrived at in my life today. Forty nine years ago, when my son was only 9 months old,
his dad was electrocuted while hooking up our mobile home in a park we were moving to. I
was very young myself and, during my years in school, I learned that God was all-knowing,
all-loving, all everything and, on that day and for some time to come, I hated God. How
could such a loving God have allowed this to happen to a young mother and her children
who had no skills to make it for herself much less her children? In my heart, I must have
known that my only hope was God and so I reached out to Him. I took tiny baby steps back
to my Savior and I suffered many crosses along the way. It was my pain that taught me how
much I needed my Savior. God NEVER leaves us; we walk away from Him. Satan has
always been busy but, in today’s time and society, he is working at a fever pitch. Please
remember this and he knows where we are weak and he will strike. G
od bless you and your family with His Gift of Peace and Love in this 2019
Christmas Season and throughout the New Year of 2020! As you suffer with the
c r osses in your life, remember our beloved Church and Her pain. Sincerely,
Gayle - USA
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