Early in this millennium, a television ad phrase became quite famous, “Can you hear me now?” Perhaps the phrase may have been infamous, as many understood the challenges of trying to have conversation on a mobile phone, only to be told they were unintelligible. For me, I get the feeling God is asking, “Do you trust Me now?” 

Recently I experienced a delightful opportunity. Shortly before, in reflecting on various circumstances in my life, I felt like I came to the realization that I had unfair expectations of others. It seemed to me that I had two choices: I could let go and move on, or I could let myself linger in the what-ifs and wish-it-could-bes. Expectations are hard to let go. Similar to other negative thoughts, they are rather sticky and every time I think I’ve been successful in letting them go, they turn up like a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of my shoe. I know it’s a work in progress, so when the delightful opportunity presented itself, it was like God presenting me with a gift and the question, “How about now?” It was a moment of pure joy and the reminder that I needed not to try and plan everything out and that where I am is where God wants me. 

I’ve been praying the surrender novena for a few years now. Yes, the same 9-day prayer, repeating it over and over every 9 days. Perhaps because I am working on it, I’m a bit more cognizant of God’s blessings when I trust Him. It’s like the carrot that’s placed in front of a horse to encourage each step. God is our biggest cheerleader; He wants us to succeed, especially when it comes to strengthening our relationship with Him. I am very grateful for the blessing God has bestowed on me. I know the scope of trusting in Him needs to grow wider. I can’t place a limit on what I turn over to God. I need to turn everything over, big and small, and let Him direct it. The blessing isn’t one of completion, but rather of trying to make the right decision and being blessed with positive feedback. This delightful gift is just a small foreshadowing of other blessings just waiting for me as my trust in God grows. 

I don’t know if trusting in God will ever be completely easy for me. I don’t know if it will ever be automatic or if I will always need to work on it. What I do know, is when I do trust in Him, the results are surprisingly delightful!