Being Satisfied
Yesterday I shared a prayer attributed to St. Anthony of Padua: Be Satisfied With Me. It’s a hard prayer for those of us who are single and even some who are married:
“Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone,
To have a deep soul relationship with another,
To be loved thoroughly and exclusively.”
How true! Whether female or male we all search for a soul-mate who will love us forever! But we often settle for “good” instead of striving for “best”. I was the impatient one, deciding when it was time to get married and raise a family, deciding who, when and where. Wasn’t I honoring God by wanting to raise children in His name? It didn’t matter that our view of God wasn’t exactly the same; we both believed in God, wasn’t that enough?
I’ve learned through trials and tears that I’d longed so much to be understood and loved by a human that I’d put dating, marriage and children ahead of my relationship with God. I’d miss church some nights to be with him, or travel on weekends to visit him where he lived. I made an idol out of a good thing and let my relationship with God slip to second best. Looking back it was clear that I wasn’t ready for a holy relationship with another human; I hadn’t kept God first in my life.
St. Anthony continues:
“I want you to stop planning, to stop wishing, and allow Me to give you
The most thrilling plan existing…one you cannot imagine.
I want you to have the best. Please allow Me to bring it to you.
You see, until you are ready, and until the one I have for you is ready,
I am working even at this moment
To have both of you ready at the same time,
Until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me.
And then, when you’re ready, I’ll surprise you with a Love
Far more wonderful than you could dream of.”
I pray that you have that holy relationship we all dream of, where we are understood and loved exclusively, where we are not judged but rebuked with love.
God has surprised me with a love more wonderful than I could have ever dreamed of: His.
Blessings, my friend,
Agatha