Читать книгу Walk With Me, Jesus: A Widow's Journey - Ronda Chervin Ph.D. - Страница 3

by Johnnette S. Benkovic

A Grief Shared

In April 2007, my daughter and I sought a ten-day respite on a sunny west coast Florida beach. It had been a difficult three years. We both needed time to heal and recuperate, and I knew I needed time to pray: specifically for discernment, wisdom, and guidance.

Earlier that month, my husband of nearly thirty-four years died of a Glioblastoma Multiforme IV brain tumor. Anthony's diagnosis had come just one year after our 25-year-old son had been killed in a vehicular accident soon after returning from serving his country in Iraq. My life had changed remarkably, and widowhood loomed large before me. If I were to meet this new challenge with faith, I knew I needed holy wisdom and guidance. Only in and through God could I find the treasury of grace packaged in the wrappings of my suffering.

Would I discover God's will for me as I made retreat with Him on that sunny shore? This was the question I asked, and its answer was the hope of my heart.

Anthony and I had experienced and witnessed abundant blessings through our crucible of suffering. Though it had been an intensely difficult time, it was a time robust with God's grace. We learned, in stunning ways, that His grace is always sufficient; that He is in the midst of all things; that His perfect plan is worked out in inexplicable and yet comprehensible ways; that everything He permits can be used to unite us more closely to Him; that Our Blessed Mother holds us in her immaculate heart; and that the Cross, when embraced, becomes a doorway to joy.

These were costly lessons to learn, and lessons I prayed to apply to my new state in life. I took a few prayer "tools" with me to my beachside retreat: my rosary, my Bible, the Divine Office, a copy of Divine Intimacy by Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, and writings on widowhood written by Ronda Chervin. As one day turned into another, I began to hear the voice of God speaking to me through these resources, offering me encouragement and insight, direction and hope.

I was especially edified by Ronda's writings. A widow herself, Ronda candidly shared her own struggle with widowhood and the challenges it presents. She told the stories of several holy women who became icons of triumph to me: St. Elizabeth Seton, Blessed Conchita, St. Jane de Chantal, Praxedes Fernandez, St. Rita of Cassia, and others. Some of these saintly women had immediate and pressing challenges to face - financial ruin, irascible relatives, small children to provide for, bitter and nearly inconsolable grief, the aftermath of painful and unhappy marriages, unusual circumstances and situations.

But each of them had learned a great lesson, a heavenly secret, a pearl of great price: they discovered how to make widowhood a pilgrim way to God, a path leading to sanctity and holiness, a sojourn into the abundant life of Jesus Christ. This was what I was after, this was what I was seeking, this was the cry of my heart. And from them I learned much.

I am so pleased that you, too, have an opportunity to meet these women through Ronda's book, Walk With Me, Jesus. This inspiring and introspective guide will lead you along the pilgrim path of widowhood. It will help you mine and discover the rich treasures of grace awaiting you along your way. It will offer you encouragement to persevere in the midst of sadness and sorrow, to hope in the midst of darkness and doubt, to trust in the midst of struggle and difficulty.

As Ronda reminds us, "Jesus does have the power to lift you, in a manner and time suitable to your own temperament, up to a new level of the Spirit, where your joy in him will be fuller."

May Walk With Me, Jesus be for you a source of comfort, consolation, wisdom, and hope. And may you discover, as I am doing, that God's grace is not only sufficient, it is infinite and will meet your every need.

Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola

July 31, 2008

WALK WITH ME, JESUS …

Lord, when the waves of pain threaten to engulf me …

Draw me to the tranquil waters of Your peace.

When the rocks cause me to stumble and fall …

Let Your light guide me safely along the path.

Lead me to the stillness, be my consolation,

Guide me to the haven of Your Sacred Heart.

In the name of the Father, and the Son,

and the Holy Spirit, Amen