Letters to Heaven: Help me Grow Closer to You

"You are the beloved child of God. He will be there when you make your long jump. Don't try to grab Him; He will grab you. Just stretch out your arms and hands and trust, trust, trust." Henry Nouwen

August 31, 2011

Dear Jesus:

The month of August is over. It was such a wonderful month that I wish it had lasted a bit longer. We had a good return flight from Seattle and we are now back into our normal routines. The only one that is still resting and on vacation is Rafi.

Today I went to the Emmaus meeting at Belen. The topic was: "What can I do to get closer to God?" I didn't talk at the meeting but the word that kept coming to my mind while everyone else was talking was "surrender." In order to get closer to You, Jesus, I have to surrender my agenda, my plans, my time, my to-do list and my desires. I have to align my mind with yours. I need to spend more time alone with You in the Blessed Sacrament or in whatever sacred space I can find in order to listen to your voice and determine what it is that You want from me. It may not be what I want but if it's what You want then I will get closer to You. Help me grow closer to You, Jesus.

Alicia said in the meeting that "it's in our darkest moments when our faith grows." What an incredibly true statement. Don't I know it. My faith grew tremendously in the past couple of years as I traversed through my darkest hour.

Please help me to savor my time with You. Help me to align my mind and my desires with yours. It's not what I want, Jesus, it's what You want. Let your word become alive within me. As Blanca said, "let me be a witness of You by my actions not my words."

I love You, Jesus!!!

August 31, 2017

Dear Jesus:

When I was little, I used to love to go to the circus. I loved all the animal shows and the clowns, but the trapeze flyers terrified me. Most of the shows had nets below, but I still wanted to close my eyes when they were flying through the air. In retrospect, I realize that in order to jump, the trapeze flyer had to have a lot of trust in the catcher. He had to trust that the catcher would catch him. It's the same with You. You always catch me when I'm falling. But in order for You to be able to catch me, I have to trust You. I have to surrender. And when I do, that's when I grow closer to You.

I love You, Jesus!!!