You know the way for me
You know the time
Into your hands
I trustingly place mine 
Your plan is perfect 
Born of perfect love
You know the way for me
 That is enough 

Reflections written by Schoenstatt members 
 
January 2020
       Coming home late from one of our last family Christmas parties, I rushed in the house to let the dogs out because we had been gone for so long. I grabbed the doorknob and quickly attempted to turn and pull at the same time. As my hand squeezed, twisted, and pulled, the door refused to open and my fingernail sliced through the top of my thumb, right on the knuckle.
        The temptation to get upset was high and the frustration growing over the pain in my thumb even more so. My self-inflicted wound was much deeper than I thought a mere fingernail could make. I wanted to be angry at the dogs, at my husband, at myself, but getting angry never leads anyone to the root of the problem. The problem was that I was rushing and distracted and the doorknob has been “sticking” for awhile now. The problem was that I didn’t lean on anything or anyone other than the task at hand and became so focused on doing what I thought needed to be done that I lost awareness of myself and potential issues that needed to be accounted for like a doorknob that has been known to stick.
          I do this so often in my life that it is a second-natured thing that I can’t seem to ignore or get rid of and it drives me crazy. It is one of my biggest struggles in my worldly life and my spiritual one. I tend to want to rush to make things mine and forget that the Lord ever placed anything on my heart in the first place. I run ahead of Him in my quest to win the race and end up lost, EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And I don’t get lost just anywhere, I get lost in the thickest of thorns where my wounds are all self-inflicted and all deeper than they should be.
          I frequently wonder how in the world I keep getting myself into these predicaments if I know that this is what I do. I sit quietly in my Home Shrine and the Blessed Mother answers ever so softly and gently. She leads my thoughts to surrender. I must surrender continually to her Son. I must give up my own life for His. I shake my head at the impossibility of this request, yet I know with her guidance, she will get me there. She doesn’t lead me blindly. She is a good Mother and brings bandages for the wounds, popsicles for the busted lips, and songs to keep my mind from the discomfort. My eyes fill with tears at how often I have hurt her and Jesus in my selfishness and pride and yet her eyes are filled with love and concern for how I have hurt myself. She is so focused on my well-being that I should never have to be worried for my own. I love her, I love her, I LOVE HER. My heart swells with the intensity and I know this is the love that Jesus experienced on the cross. It is not even my love I love her with, it is His. I pray that by the grace of God and the guidance and love of the Holy Spirit and our Mother Thrice Admirable, that I will strive to surrender every moment to the Lord, every ounce of my being for the salvation of souls, every semblance of my will for the glory of His name.

What is it that you struggle with that needs to be surrendered to the Lord? Where does the Blessed Mother lead your thoughts in times of silence?
 
“God has so much confidence in you!”
                        ~ A snippet from a homily given by Fr. David Zink


                                                                                          Submitted by an anonymous Schoenstatt  member