trust

Can you hear me now?

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!

Catholic Girl Journey

Trust like Tweety

Question: If you could describe yourself as any cartoon character what would it be and why?
My answer: Tweety Bird, because he’s always happy.

I was reminded of this question and answer exchange that occurred early in my career during a mock interview. I remember my colleague laughing when I began my answer, but afterwards, she agreed, especially since I had a habit of encouraging people to smile or ask if they were having fun (at work!). I asked that question again to myself recently and thought about the character of Tweety Bird and if the answer would still be the same.

It’s been quite some time since I’ve watched any Looney Tunes, but what I do remember of Tweety is that he was always looking at the bright side of things. He had this way of trusting that everything would work out. His nemesis Sylvester the cat, on the other hand, was always scheming to get Tweety and always failed. But no matter how many times Sylvester tried, Tweety never seemed to get angry or be upset with Sylvester, he just trusted that everything would work out. While I originally described Tweety as always happy, I think it was more; it was a joyful spirit.

Since the beginning, God has been asking us to trust Him, teaching and encouraging our total reliance on Him. All throughout salvation history we see evidence of those who have trusted and those who have failed, either for a moment or a lifetime. It continues to be a challenge for everyone today. But if we live a life trusting, that even in the difficult moments or those that seem like the only result will be a bad one, by trusting in God and embracing the difficulties, we can live a joyful life and move through those moments.

I may not always be as trusting and joyful as Tweety, but I do try to practice total trust in God. Some days it’s a lot easier than others, but practice makes perfect. I think I would still describe myself like Tweety, not because I’m exactly like him, but that I aspire to his character traits of trust and joy.