Wait for the Lord

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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It's been a while since I've written an entry. Probably, it's been since before my father-in-law passed away. And then we lost four other members of our family/friends. Five losses in five weeks.

And here we are, in Advent. The season of waiting. I'm waiting to process all of this loss. I'm waiting to find a new semblance of normal.

On the first Sunday of Advent, I found myself in Ohio. The word that stood out was from the first reading, from the Book of Isaiah, "...wait for him."

Over the course of this week, the wait has felt long. In particular, I've been waiting to see how current ministry endeavors will bear fruit. And more pressingly, I've been waiting for God to make a way in my communication with David.

We have both been through many changes in the past year, and our marriage seems to be bearing the weight of much transition.

As I write this entry, I'm looking back to the passages leading up to this Word for the Week:

Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old. No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him.

And although it's from a different liturgical season, I'm remembering the Gospel story when Jesus sent his disciples to prepare the Upper Room for the Last Supper.

He gave them such specific instructions. He told them where to find a donkey for him to ride into Jerusalem, who to meet with along the way, and every bit of it brought the ancient prophesies to fulfillment.

Maybe in our lives we are praying, like the scripture from Isaiah, "Oh...that you would come down." And yet, Jesus comes to us in the fullness of time (Galatians 4:4).

The details were not outside of God's Providence on the day of Christ's birth, nor during his Passion. And neither are the details of our lives separate from the will of God for us.

I'll end with a quote I shared at my Ohio concert last week. I hope you find comfort in these words, as I have, in this Season of Waiting:

"A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us." -Henri Nouwen

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Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski

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Maybe in the Future 🍎

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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Last Sunday, our 11-yr-old son joined me for Mass. I was giving a parish mission at a local parish, so it was awesome to have his help after each Mass. The word that stood out to me was from the Gospel of Luke. The context was a tree that wasn’t producing to the liking of the orchard owner.

The owner visited his orchard and told the gardener to cut down the barren tree. But the gardener, who had the expertise in growing plants, advised against it. He asked for another year, in which he would “cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it,” and—here’s my word for the week—

“…it may bear fruit in the future.”

This week, I have felt called to let things rest. I’m thinking of a particular, close friendship where I took a step back on communication for several days. And also of my desire to become super-invested in our local community. And, furthermore, of a series of health exams that I’m currently taking for the future.

The list goes on, of the things that seem unresolved and uncomfortable for me this week. Overall, I’m reminded that A) it’s not my natural disposition to see projects through to the end! And B) I’m also prone to give up entirely on specific relationships, based on my personality.

The fact that the Lord has called me to this season of relative calm, is very contrary to my natural sensibilities. But this Word for the Week is helping me to rejoice in the wisdom of the Lord. He knows what He is doing! I trust Him to work through the “boring” or mundane or seemingly unfruitful happenings of life, which I would naturally avoid!, to bring about His will.

Through the Word of God, I’ve been able to rejoice this week in reflecting on the past. There have definitely been seasons where I felt like nothing was happening. And yet, I can look back to see the fruit that God was cultivating. In other words, He is the patient gardener. And I want to cooperate with how he is tilling the soil and fertilizing it.

Does that mean there is necessarily…poop, all around?! So we praise the Lord for the manure, too?

In your life, is there any “fertilizer” that is stinking things up, yet causing you to grow stronger and more healthy?

Pray with me? (This is a bit sassy one, but it’s in line with the gospel!)

Dear Jesus, thank you for your patience and for your wisdom. Thank you for how you prepare our environment to best aid in our growth and in our future fruitfulness. Thank you for the times that really stink, too, because we trust you are working even the “fertilizer” out for our good. Amen.

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Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski
Frances Jones
Elizabeth Herberg

To become an Amanda Vernon Patron and receive a “New Music Every Month,” signup at amandavernon.com/patron.

Stay on the Trail

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

---

Two weeks ago, my Word for the Week was “patience.” In the ensuing days, I had a very full workweek of filming for our upcoming podcast. Midweek, I went up to Sedona, AZ for a hiking retreat. Along the trail, I saw a sign that said:

“HEALING IN PROGRESS -Please stay on trail- Thank you”

This is how God speaks to me: through specific words and symbols. The words were quite distinct. And the symbolism of being on a quite challenging climb was too obvious to miss.

There has been a lot of healing in progress in my heart, mind, and body already this Lent. Of note, we’ve started to meet new friends from our neighborhood and our parish. It’s healing to share food and laughter and to remember that this current season of cultural isolation will not last forever! But it certainly requires patience from me, because I do not feel settled in our new community yet. And I really, really miss touring.

This past Sunday, the Word that stood out was:

“...he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” - Mark 9:9

That secrecy theme runs strong in the Gospel of Mark. Secrecy is a promising message for me! Like the theme of my Christmas album, “Secretos Navideños,” I think of God’s secrets as the beautiful messages that He shares with us in the stillness. They’re destined to be shared!

Right now, I’m starting to see some fruit of this past year of world-wide struggle. I’m realizing how God is tying the pieces together for my family. It’s not quite time to describe it publicly yet.

My Word for the Week over the past two Sundays has reassured me that: A) God is giving me the precious gift of time, and B) I’ll be ready to witness when the time is right.

In the meantime, is God pointing out any new healing in your life? Are you able to see the healing in your own heart or in the hearts of those you love? Even though the sign post on the Sedona trail was referring to regrowth in the mountainous terrain, I believe there is also healing happening on a massive scale in the Church throughout the World.

Are you able to speak to the healing that’s in progress right now? If not, maybe we’re in good company with the Apostles who saw a glimpse of Jesus’ full splendor on the mountaintop. They didn’t know how to respond! They were overwhelmed! So Jesus advised them to not talk about it until they could see more of the picture.

As we approach a full year since the COVID19 pandemic began in full force in the United States, perhaps we’re almost ready to proclaim the healing that has happened in our communities and in our own hearts. Maybe we, like the Apostles, are about to receive even more healing just a bit further ahead on our path.

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Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Sara Chacon
Kelly Wesaw
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski

To become an Amanda Vernon Patron and receive exclusive rewards, signup at amandavernon.com/patron.