My “cloistered
brothers” were recollecting when they first encountered God. Some felt peace, saw light, heard joy, in
various circumstances. Some were in
accidents, some while attending Cursillo, some participated in a healing
service, and some were reading scripture.
The memories soon changed into life after encountering God. My brothers spoke of feeling protected, not
alone, or God has my back. There were frequent
references to God’s plans.
We realized
that we were speaking as if God planned this to happen, which isn’t true. We very well could have chosen not to be
receptive to the Holy Spirit. We could
have shaken off whatever grace filled promptings that were blessing us. But we didn’t. We freely chose to accept God.
We were
sounding like we had no choice--that we were predestined to such and such behavior. Just the thought evoked laughter because with
our history, we were more than likely to choose the wrong way. (So much for predestination).
The way
to look at it, we concluded, was that we freely chose, but accepting God and
His Will, made it better.
Oh yes, it makes all the difference in the
world.
