The Love Story Waiting for Me

CELERY

God came to me quietly and quickly as I lumbered out of my usual K drama hangover. This morning, he surprised me with a love story meant just for me, absolutely unlike any of the Netflix romance stories on which I was continuously binging.

As I rose from the left side of my bed, my head turned quickly to my side table, and for the first time, the Blessed Mother statue caught my eyes as I stared at her in full view. This beautiful blue and white statue of Mary was a birthday gift that my sister, Lita, had commissioned someone to do to give to her family and friends during the first year of the pandemic. This statue has been with me for almost two years, and I placed it at this table to remind me of Mary’s place and role in my life, which I often take for granted. But this time, I was struck by the experience of seeing her there standing right before my eyes. The strong message to me was that Mary has a love story! An ELIJAH MOMENT!

The Lord has always known how to reach me when I am out of sorts, derailed, confused, or overwhelmed. And he is so familiar with my favorite coping mechanisms, such as running away from him and my situation. To add to my bad habit of eating more than my health allows, I picked up another negative way of coping a month before the pandemic started – marathon watching.

Going back to the message of Mary’s love story, I realized she is the epitome of God’s grand design and plan for each of us. She leads the way. Her life and the lives of the saints, both living and dead, immortalize their unique response to God’s long-standing invitation to love him back.   

God has given me, as he gave Mary, the grace to choose and accept him as my Lord and Redeemer – a binding, love relationship that will create my love story with him, far above and beyond my limited imagination, understanding, and capacity to love.  

Everything is a gift! Thank you, Mary, for being my spiritual mother and inspiration. Help me to live my love story as you did yours. Praise and glory be to you, oh my God!