When God Clears Our Slate... He's looking to Readjust Our Path

By Judy Keane
Catholic Online

Sometimes when God wishes to bring about particularly important changes in our lives, he finds it necessary to clear our slate.

Have you ever had this experience? Have you ever been at a point in your life when nothing seems to be going right? Maybe you've interviewed for a series of jobs and haven't been offered any of them. Perhaps a relationship, filled with promise, ends suddenly. Maybe you try to schedule a dinner with a friend or family member and it keeps falling through. Or, you diligently look for your first house, but can't seem to find the right one. Whatever events may be, many of the ideas or avenues you pursue come to naught and even the smallest things seem to come with difficulty.

I believe it is moments like these that God is most deeply at work in our lives, looking to readjust our path and steer us anew. When you find painful and disappointing roadblocks in your way, God may be clearing your slate.

Why would he choose to do this? Often it is because God wants us to cling to his eternal designs and plans instead of letting us go forward on our own way, which may not be the best way. It is also his way of redirecting our focus back to him and away from purely temporal pursuits which may not be the best for us.

Surely you have heard accounts of others who were having a rough time finding a job, relationship, or even a home and decided to turn it over to God, only to find that the job, relationship, or perfect place to live once they were able to turn their plans and desires over to God. It is in these times, when we are truly able to let go and let God, that he is able to redirect our path according to his will and design and work freely in our lives.

I experienced this when I was 25 years old. Over a period of three months, I lost my job and a cherished relationship ended. Additionally, I lost my health for a time and as a result, was forced to discontinue my college degree program. I felt like the rug had been pulled out from underneath me and I felt devastated. Everything I was working toward and hoping for, within a period of months, came to naught.

What I came to realize later is that God was clearing the slate of my own exclusive plans. In a very powerful way, God was trying to get my attention and redirect my path toward his will and his plans for my life.

Why does he do this from time to time and to varying degrees in our lives? In my case, I believe I was headed in a direction that would not have been the best for me. I also believe I was putting far too much emphasis on the temporal and not nearly enough on the spiritual. When all seemed lost to me on many fronts of my life, it was then that God was rebuilding me according to his future plans and will.

It certainly didn't happen overnight. It was a slow process in which he gently turned my focus back to him, reminding me that I am to love him with all my heart, all my mind, all my soul. Little did I know at the time, that his most immediate plan did not consists of my buying a home, finding another boyfriend, or continuing my current career path. Instead, I wound up moving overseas to live just outside of Medjugorje where for the next two and a half years, I taught English and worked in refugee camps. Once I let go, God lead me to an amazing experience which changed my life and drew much closer to him, his beloved son, and Our Lady. I remain eternally grateful for this experience, particularly since my personal plans would have paled in comparison! As a result of this unique experience, I grew much in my personal faith, befriended amazing people from all over the world, and learned more than I can say from the refugees and high school students I served.

Years later, I find that God appears to be clearing the slate of my life once more. I find that nothing seems to be coming easily. Many roads I've tried recently have met with dead ends. It's not an easy time; it never is when things don't come readily or in the way or time we planned. But we must recognize it for what it is.

From previous experience, I know it is our loving God gently reminding me once more that I've begun to stray from his providential hand and tried to take back control my own destiny. It is a powerful reminder for me to again let go and let God. It is a time to rededicate and lay my hopes and aspirations at his feet and wait for his guidance. It is God, again, cleaning my slate. Not my will, but your will be done, Oh Lord.

I know that with prayer, the intercession of Our Lady, our Lord's providential hand, and time (God's time), answers will come and things will be sorted out. New directions and paths will open with ease when they are right and of his will.

If you find yourself in such a situation, go before the Lord and seek his peace, until your own peace is restored. This does not mean to stop looking for that house, that relationship, a fulfilling job, or whatever else is in your heart, but it does mean to let go and ask the Lord to allow only his will to come to pass. If you think God may be clearing the slate of your life, know that it is only happening only because of his great love and care for you.

Seize this moment of your life as a tremendous opportunity to grow close to him and increase your faith and trust in him. It is never an easy time, but it is a time of supreme and supernatural assurance of his love and concern for you in both the big and small matters of your life - and this is certainly something to rejoice about. What a great God we have!

____________________

Judy Keane is a freelance writer living in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is the owner of Keane Public Relations, and is currently obtaining her Master's degree in Theology from Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. Contact info: jkeane-pr@hotmail.com.

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Keane Public Relations
https://www.catholic.org AZ, US
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