Jesus, We Trust in You

Yesterday, I went to see “Faustina” the play based on Saint Faustina and while I was expecting to be entertained the production left me in deep contemplation bringing to light many truths that perhaps at the moment I needed.  Art can really connect us to God in such a personal, intimate way.  The play did a great job showing the battle for our soul that takes place between good and evil.  There was this part where Saint Faustina experienced great spiritual dryness and the enemy kept trying to woo her to him, with lies and attempts to place doubt in her heart.  God allowed all to happen to personally and intimately teach Saint Faustina the phrase that is stamped on the painting of the Divine Mercy, “Jesus, I trust in you.”  Throughout her life these moments of uncertainty walking through spiritual desert made her cling to God and to trust Him more and more.  And God, rewarded her fidelity.  The play beautifully showed how slowly Faustina and Jesus built a relationship where no matter the misunderstandings, tribulations and opposition she trusted blindly in Him.  And the more she trusted the more intimate and personal their relationship became.  There came a point where they became such chums that she would joke with Him and all that she asked He granted…  Trust is super important in our relationship with God, but also in our human relationships. 

I have the ability to make girlfriends quite easily, but when it comes to building relationships with men I am very distrustful at first.  Some experiences in my past, made me very suspicious of men and this distrust has played a huge part in my remaining single.  Growing up, I was also quite shy and introverted and all these factors kept me from letting people in, especially men.  Yet, as my relationship with God has grown, He’s slowly healed me and helped me realize that not all men are bad.  God has also placed this great desire in me for marriage and a family and the desire is so strong that I am ready to open up and give love a chance.  However, in order for love to grow, trust has to be built and trust takes time.  That’s why romantic relationships should always begin as friendships.  In friendship we learn to get to know each other really well - slowly, honestly and comfortably.  When dating you usually see the best self of the significant other in friendship we see all sides of the person.  With a friend one is always comfortable around the other person and this comfort enables the revealing of intimate information.  Also, friends make great teammates which make awesome support during problems and challenges.  And friends accept us just the way we are and forgive us when we mess up.   This foundation in friendship makes the progression flow naturally to the next stage of romantic love.

While ideally that’s how relationships should begin, distance and other factors can make developing a friendship a lot more difficult- BUT not impossible.  If God has placed you in a friendship with someone a distance away that means that God intends to help you, God would never place you in a situation and forget you there.  It all begins with trust and trust is built by getting to know your friend deeply and making a mutual commitment to the friendship.  Though I am a private person on Facebook I share who and what is important to me- my posts carry the intention of being known by my cute friend.  I am reliable I check in a few times throughout the day to build that trust.  I try to be open, honest and encouraging.  When things get difficult or there’s misunderstandings I see them as opportunities to grow in friendship.  Eventually little by little things will progress to phone conversations and meeting half way from one another since that’s what friends do.  Yet, one must exercise a lot of patience as trust is built and as both friends establish a comfortable pace for the friendship to grow.  It never hurts to pray along the way too (smile).