Little girl, I say to you arise. Little girl, I say to you...
Little girl, I say to...
Little girl, I say...
Little girl, I...
Little girl...
Little.
This week, I felt like I was in a fog. In a haze that rendered me unable to recognize or perceive the Lord's delight in me and the joy He constantly sings over me. Growing impatient by the day as the petition portion of my 54-Day Rosary Novena was nearing its end, the thought of the Thanksgiving portion growing closer and closer just felt unprecedented.
I wasn't ready to be thankful when my prayer has gone unanswered. At this moment I questioned if God was even hearing me and my fervent prayer for a very specific intention that has seemed to overtake my spiritual life, mental energy and even my physical sleep.
The Lord listened to me and received me think in my head that He was a bad father who doesn't hear the cry of His children. One who somehow was holding out on me. Not only did I feel like my prayers weren't being answered for peace, but I had other anti-peace situations enter my life, seeming to spring up in every direction aiming to disrupt my joy, make me doubt His goodness and fail to see my daily graces.
Why had praying for peace suddenly cast my heart and mind into a frenzy with drowning relationships, a blindness to joy and a numbness to His presence?
How could I feel so strongly just mere days ago that He was moving, and now I felt hopeless in the pursuit of healing.
Jeremiah 31:25 says, "For I will refresh the weary soul; every soul that languishes I will replenish."
I know the Lord desires so tirelessly to shed His sweetness on my anxieties. That His shear presence is an unquenched fount of grace and love that will never run dry.
In my prayer the Lord begged me to look at Him, to gaze and let Him gaze back at me--not for the sake of staring at me, but for the sake of healing. With each blink I began to see clearer and clearer how the Lord was moving to mend my broken heart with the simple words, "Talitha koum!."
Little girl, I say to you arise. Your sins may be heavy but take courage! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) My yoke is easy, my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30), and I desire to carry the weight of your sin and suffering with you always. I will never leave.
Little girl, I say to you... that you are not the sum of your weaknesses, failures or brokenness. You are the sum of My Love for you (Pope Saint John Paul the Great).
Little girl, I say to... the very depths of your heart that you are Beloved. You are mine. You are safe in my arms (Psalm 4:8).
Little girl, I say... do not doubt My Goodness. I have known you for eternity and I know your inmost desires (Psalm 37:4). I desire for you to run to me, to rest in My Peace and to remain steadfast in My Love for you (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Little girl, I... love you more than you could ever know. I knew you even before I knit you in your mother's womb (Psalm 139:13). I know you intimately and the plans I have for you will surpass all your ideas for yourself because I know what you are capable of (Jeremiah 29:11). I know what you can do. And you can do all things through Me (Philippians 4:13).
Little girl... strong and mighty is your nature and like the mustard seed, great faith will spring up from your littleness (Matthew 12:31- 33). From your poverty, you will be enlightened, and in that space, you will learn and garner graces to take you through the next impoverished corner of your life.
Little. You are so little, but you are fierce. You are strong. You are the crown of creation. In your littleness I get to come and meet you. I get to be your savior. And though your weakness may make you feel frail or unworthy, it is this very weakness, this very brokenness, that draws me to you. Through your weaknesses you will encounter My Love met with grace, healing, strength and a deep surrender. Embrace this tenderness towards yourself. Fall in love with your littleness as I transform you from glory to glory, walking securely with you all the while through the thickets, dark valleys and winding avenues for I will not forsake you, my Beloved, My Cherished One. I am preparing for you a healing remedy.
I think in part of my life I have been dead and numb to joy for fear of disappointment. Maybe you have also felt this way. Maybe you too have felt the dryness in prayer that makes you doubt whether or not your intercession is fruitful. But it always is. And we must constantly claim the Truth of the consoling words that come from Jesus in order for us to claim peace.
Blessed is She had a devotion for this specific reading recently and these words jumped out at me.
Jesus gently whispers over a dead little girl, “Talitha koum!” (Mark 5:41) and maybe He included, “Sweet little one wake up, rise up! There is so much more I have for you.”
The Lord has so much for us my dear brothers and sisters. The Lord doesn't simply make up plans as He goes along. He has always, for all eternity, had a plan for us to achieve sanctification and attain sainthood so we may sing without ceasing in Heaven with all the choirs of holy men and women, reunited with our Maker where tears are no more and we will be in stainless garments purchased for us by the blood of the Lamb who never tires of hearing us say,
"Daddy, I love you. "
The Lord is teaching me a lot through this process, prompting me to continually gaze at Him to find healing that is ignited through a surrender to His mission, His grace and His timing.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, please pray for us!
[ Get Aimée's 'Talitha Koum!' art as a RAD STICKER OR COFFEE MUG on RedBubble. ]
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