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shyla214
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| Joined: | Wed Jan 3rd, 2007 |
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Posted: Thu Jan 4th, 2007 06:02 pm |
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Hello everyone
I am grateful to have found this website and have been intrigued and inspired to read many stories on here. I know mine does not (yet?) truly fit into the "conversion story" category; however, I submit my story to you hoping to find some guidance and encouragement. Of course, like everyone, it is a long story but I truly will endeavor to keep it as short and sweet as possible. :-)
I was raised in a non Christian home...the closest label that could be attached to it would be agnostic. We occasionally went to church at the United Methodist, but God was never spoken of in my home and the Bible was there to hold marriage and death certificates in, nothing else. The only time I ever heard scripture was when my mom would use it as a bully pulpit...yes, the lovely "honor your father and mother" used in the context of "be/do whatever it takes to make me look/feel good and remember you are no one apart from me and what I want from you." My mom and stepdad did not hesitate to label anyone who went to church regularly as a "weak minded, dependent person who can't think for themselves." The term "religious wacko" also flew around my house easily.
From my earliest recollections, I hungered for God. And despite the hazy spiritual environment at home, I felt that I knew God in some sense. I felt his protection many times during my chaotic and challenging childhood. I felt him preserving my heart and mind. Yet, I didn't "know" Him per se. I asked many people throughout my childhood, "Why did Jesus die on the cross?" The UMC (United Methodist Church) would use the phrase "Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for you..." quite often and it always confused me. I simply didn't know WHY He died, but I knew that it was something I should understand. When I would ask the Sunday school teachers through the years (and granted, I was only there about five Sundays a year so no one really knew me,) they would either just look at me funny and change the subject (I'm thinking they thought I was being sarcastic?) or they would say a variation of "because He loves you." That answer didn't help me. I inherently knew and felt the love of God, but couldn't reconcile Jesus and His death and resurrection...I couldn't make sense of it.
The other paramount spiritual dimension of my childhood was the Catholic Church. Not because I ever attended one or knew one thing about it! - but because I was drawn to it the same way I felt drawn to God. We would drive past it several times a week and I ALWAYS wanted to go inside. Sometimes I considered asking my mom to stop and let me go inside, but I always knew that it wasn't worth it - she would never do that and even asking would make her think I was a "wacko" and all the consequences of that were more than I could handle at that age. I had this strong sense that Jesus was there...in that Catholic Church...and when I would see the Catholics going in on a Sunday I just wanted nothing more than to go with them and find Jesus. I dreamed of becoming a nun. Yes, I know you think I'm some kind of strange kid! ha! But all this went on completely internally for me...no one else knew. I equated the Catholic Church with a deep, abiding presence of Jesus and God's favor and for the life of me, I cannot explain that to you other than God must have planted that in me because for sure no one around me would have been able to handle that, let alone talk about it with me!
When I was fourteen I attended a Young Life camp on the Oregon coast. How I got my parents to let me go I have no idea, but it was a seminole experience for me. The speaker that first night, Dan, devoted his talk to the cross and why Jesus died for each of us and what that meant to each person's life to have that kind of sacrifice made for each and every person. He blew me away. It was like he knew every question about Jesus I ever had, like he was reading my mind. I felt like I was in a dream, really, as he spoke. He concluded with an invitation to come to Jesus, then dismissed us. The group kind of dispersed; some went inside, some stayed outside and adults kind of made themselves available. I remember walking out into the darkness, laying down on the cold ground, looking into the sky and just crying (and I don't cry easily!) I was overwhelmed with the sacrifice of Jesus and so grateful to finally have an understanding of what He did and why He did it. I never said a "sinner's prayer" or anything like that, but if someone wanted to point to a time when I "became a Christian" this would definitely be it. I remember telling Jesus that I wanted nothing more than to be His forever, that I wanted my desire to be His presence and truth.; I wanted my life to reflect who He is and I wanted to have LIFE and not the world. I think I must have been gone a long time because my counselor came looking for me and seemed kind of concerned! The next day we had a small group and several of the kids from my school said they had "gotten saved" the night before and several others said they were already Christian but the night had been very meaningful for them. I had this strange feeling about the "got saved" way of describing what had happened...it felt too shallow for me...I felt like "came alive" or "ran to Christ" was much more accurate, but I was mostly at a loss for words to describe what God had done.
I came home and it was very difficult. My parents were convinced I had joined a cult and lost my mind. Getting to church was hard - I rode my bike 16 miles round trip to make it there on Sundays. I tried to attend the UMC to keep a little peace in my house, but I just wanted so badly to feel immersed in Christ and couldn't find Him there, not in that depth anyway. I ended up at the Episcopal Church. A logical question would be, "why did you not pursue Catholicism?" Very valid question! I don't have a "good" answer except to say that I was on very thin ice at home and I knew enough to know I'd have to "convert" to the Catholic Church and committ to classes, etc. and I knew there was no way I could make that happen (I was not allowed to be out on my bike after nightfall and RCIA was only in the evenings). I very much regret not at least talking to the Priest there and asking about other options, but I intimidated myself out of it.
I went to college and started attending a Foursquare Church. Yes - from Episcopal to Foursquare...whew! This is when I started attending Saturday night mass and then church on Sunday morning (a pattern that continues to this day). My Foursquare Christian friends had no idea...they would have set up an intervention if they knew! I had been reading/studying the Bible intensely for about five years already. I loved the energy, freedom and passion in the 4-square situation, but struggled with a lot of other things and always felt out of place (a common thread throughout my whole Christian life). Those Saturday night mass times were my sanctuary, truly. I have only made it through mass a few times without having tears going down my face. I felt so close to Jesus (even without taking communion...I wanted to live out that respect to the Church and not take it even though it was wrenchingly difficult). This Saturday night mass - closeness to Christ within the mass - not taking communion - benefitting and growing from the Sunday church environments I have been a part of - all this continues to this day. It is so important to me to say that many, many wonderful gifts have been given to me through my Protestant churches and the brothers and sisters I have made there. It hurts me deeply to think they would ever see me as a rejector of them and/or their contributions to my spiritual growth. I do not feel that in the least. I will always look at this season in my life (for however long it lasts) with deep thankfulness and humbleness that people have poured effort and love into helping me grow in Jesus.
So, (I'll fast forward here...) I never seriously looked into becoming wholly Catholic. I always saw myself with one foot in Protestantism and one in Catholicism and I guess, accepted that I would always be there. Within this last year I have started to feel a strong compelling to fully immerse myself in my Catholic longings. I am 33, I've been married almost 14 years and I have three children. My husband is very supportive of me...somewhat confused by all this, wanting what God wants for me and not quite sure how this will all work out but committed to making it all work out and very loving with me about this whole issue. I have spent the last year reading, praying and seeking God. It's a strange place...I'm the most at peace and joyous at the prospect of becoming "fully" Catholic and at the same time, in some agony at the prospect of (perhaps) turning my family into a divided one (not divided about Christ at all but perhaps divided about church) - and not sure how to proceed in a way that honors Christ and my family and Protestant heritage (albeit brief! 'heritage' built between 1988 and 2006!) I know I cannot be responsible for how others may feel about this, if and when I convert, but it hurts me deeply to know some of my friends will probably not be able to get over this and have to let go of our friendship in order to have peace within themselves. Anyway - you all know what that's like.
I have read over 25 books on both Catholic theology and Evangelical/Protestant rebuttals. (by the way, I attended a Bible college for almost 2 years in my early twenties and have spent much of my Christian life fascinated by theology so I came into this with a moderate understanding of Protestant foundations and intricacies.) As I study Catholic theology...it just resonates with me both in heart AND mind. It's like my puzzle pieces of so many years of studying come flying together to make this beautiful picture. What I'm saying is...I think there's no doubt that I AM Catholic, but I'm not allowing myself to be fully received as one, either by the Church nor anyone else. This is such a stumbling point for me and I cannot figure out why. It is so difficult.
Oddly enough, our pastor is very supportive of me and even plans to meet with my husband and I soon to talk through these issues and help me get clarity. He has already said he would be happy for me if I enter the Catholic Church - he is not "against Rome" or anything close. It is his leadership in our current church (where we have been for about five years) that has probably helped me stay sane within Protestantism during this time! This is an "interdenominational" church with people from all kinds of backgrounds, including Catholic, coming together to really make a beautiful community of Christ's body.
We will be moving in the summer of 2007, across the country and back to our "home state" where both our families reside. So, I will be faced with finding another church. Probably no coincidence that these Protestant/Catholic issues have surfaced so formidably over this last year, huh!?  Please pray for me and my family, that we would follow Jesus at any cost and be reflections of His grace and power. This is my desire above all. Thank you for this resource and for all of those willing to share the path with your family in Christ. May He bless and strengthen us all!!
Shyla
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5080 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Thu Jan 4th, 2007 06:36 pm |
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Shyla, in many ways your story is similar to my own. I am a cradle Catholic and never left the Church, but I was raised in a household where no one went to church and God was seldom mentioned. As you say, the bible was used for keeping records or pressing flowers, it was certainly never read. My parents felt they fulfilled their obligation by sending me to Catholic school, but if I wanted to attend mass on Sunday, I had to ride my bike all the way across town. I did manage to attend daily mass for years in my teens, and it was not unusual for me to spend all day on Sunday at church (there were no Saturday evening masses in those days) going to mass five or six times and serving as altar server, lector, organist, singer, sacristan, or whatever else they needed me to be. I fell in love with the Church and even went to the Seminary for a couple of years.
After I graduated high school, I became very active in campus ministry at my University, but after I left college and got married, I drifted in and out of the Church for several years. It wasn't until my wife got pregnant that I made a real commitment to be Catholic, and I've been faithful ever since.
So I guess the real similarities between your story and mine are the lack of a religious household, the bike ride across town, and the hunger for Jesus.
Wherever your journey takes you, we welcome you to CHN. Please let us know if you have any questions we can answer, or if we can help in any other way.
____________________
Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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Talithacumi
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| Joined: | Sat Sep 30th, 2006 |
| Location: | Eastern Ohio, USA |
| Posts: | 260 |
| First Name: | Cheri | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Cradle Catholic - Latin Rite |
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Posted: Thu Jan 4th, 2007 08:04 pm |
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Shyla,
I am so inspired by your story. God must really have been working in you all your life to bring you to this point. As for being afraid to fully surrender to becoming Catholic, it's understandable, really. You're human. Maybe deep down you know that once you surrender yourself to becoming Catholic, that's it. There's no turning back. I mean... "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave" - in the sense that once you find Truth in all its fulness, it will haunt you forever and nothing else will ever truly satisfy.
And change is always scary. Maybe you're afraid of giving over your self. So naturally you'd be holding back. But the Good News is that He loves you and never forces Himself on anyone. "God is a gentleman" as my ex-bf used to say. But it's like... when you married your husband, you entrusted yourself to him, right? How much more so can we trust God with our lives! And if we can trust God, it only stands to reason that we can trust the Church that He Himself established. Don't worry. Being Catholic won't harm you - at least, not in any way that's important. If your being Catholic does harm you, it will only be in the sense of being persecuted for Christ's sake. But the rewards are so worth it. I can't imagine being anything other than Catholic. Nothing else would make sense to me. I'm not just saying that because I've been Catholic all my life, though I'm sure that plays some kind of an influence, but I've been around Protestants and Protestantism enough to know that it's just too incomplete and full of holes for me. Catholicism holds more than enough spiritual Truth to satisfy any who truly seek to understand the teachings of Christ.
As for worrying about losing your friends or that they will never get over this, funny you should mention that. I'm just now reading a book about fear. It's called: Feel the Fear... Do it Anyway. And in this book, the author mentions this very thing. The fact is that you can't control what your friends will think or do. Don't let them be a stumbling block. They are in control of their own selves and actions. It's not your job to control what they think or do. You have to be true to yourself.
But enough preaching  . Didn't mean to go off like that. Sorry.
Anyway, welcome to the Forum! And I will reiterate what Rick already said: please feel free to share and/or ask questions. That's what we're all here for. We all try to help each other out and I think you will find this is a great place to find support. Looking forward to hearing more from you. And I will be praying for you and your family that He will strengthen you all as He leads you towards the path that will draw you ever closer to Him.
JMJ
- Cheri
____________________
“We do not want a Church that will move with the world; we want a Church that will move the world.”
- G.K. Chesterton
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BettyBoopToo
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Camas/Washougal, Washington USA |
| Posts: | 538 |
| First Name: | Betty | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Fist Baptist/Calvary Babtist/Secular Confusion/ Roman Catholic |
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Posted: Fri Jan 5th, 2007 02:46 am |
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Shyla:
It is truly a pleasure, Welcome to the CHNetwork!
It is not coincedence that the Lord has brought you here to the safety of this Forum.
Thank You for sharing your journey thus far with us, It's always helpful to know where we've come from and where were headed. Your sincere faith is so beautiful to hear, Just like everyone else on the forum.
God Bless, I hope we can get to know one another Better.
Betty
____________________
Patience
"Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
St. John of the Cross
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shyla214
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| Joined: | Wed Jan 3rd, 2007 |
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Posted: Mon Jan 8th, 2007 12:41 pm |
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Betty, Cheri & Rick
Wow - thank you so much for your replies to my post. I really appreciate you taking the time to read it and send your feedback/encouragement. I hope to visit this website frequently; I have found it very helpful. I start classes again soon (working on my Bachelor's degree!) so my time on the computer gets cut down but I'm sure I'll still find some time. Thanks again to all of you and may the peace and joy of Christ reign in your lives today.
Shyla
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shyla214
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Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 11:48 am |
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Hello everyone -
I am writing today asking for prayer and support. Please read my prior post for background into where I am today.
Just a little over a year ago, I felt very convicted about contraception and studied the Church's view on it. I felt so peaceful about the teaching and wanted to come into line with it and my husband is very supportive. Since that time, I have had three miscarriages. I had never had any before. Please hear me, I'm not taking this as a "bad sign" or anything...I just want to do all I can to keep Jesus' Lordship over that part of my life. Right now I am pregnant again but things don't seem to be going well. Please pray for this new little life inside me and that God would guide me through this, whatever happens. Thank you so much. By the way we have three children right now.
I also wanted prayer because I am contacting the Father of the Catholic Church I attend on Saturday nights to pursue coming into full communion with the Church. Again, I have my husband's full support although right now, he doesn't feel peace about converting. Well, I have a dear friend who I have shared with regarding my journey towards the Catholic Church and she is very loving and accepting about it all but she talked with her husband about it and he is NOT accepting of it at all - according to Him I am choosing hell fire basically and joining Satan's church. Oh, the drama of it all. Today he gave me a magazine article to read and when I opened the magazine I found out it was all about how evangelicalism was losing more and more people to the "deceitfulness of the enemy" and they were turning to Rome and "losing their salvation," yada yada yada. Honestly, mostly I just found it sad because it shows such a shallow view of scripture (this coming from those who claim to have scripture as "the final authority," of course) and such a disregard for the LOVE OF GOD. If you can't toe the doctrinal line with these people, as set up by them - you are headed straight for hell fire. Well, I am fine but my husband was very upset and these are good friends of ours. Please pray for us...as I come full circle into the Church and people do end up knowing about this I know this is not the last time I will hear about my salvation being gone, etc. etc. Please pray that we both handle it with the love and mercy of Christ.
Thank you, unseen friends! I was praying this morning and felt strongly that I should write this post on here and we so appreciate your prayers and support during trials.
Sincerely, Shyla
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Darlene
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| Joined: | Mon Oct 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania USA |
| Posts: | 868 |
| First Name: | Darlene | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Christian, trusting His love and forgiveness |
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Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 04:50 pm |
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Greetings Shyla,
Today I read your post for the first time. I can empathize with many of your childhood experiences. However, my family was far more dedicated to their atheist/agnostic views. My mother, grandmother and aunt were staunch atheists. My father was agnostic, then became quasi Lutheran. The boyscout troop he was leader of, met in a Lutheran church. He decided to be baptized and took an interest in attending church. One day, after returning home from church, my mother discovered we had studied the First Commandment in Sunday school. She was furious. She emphatically stated that it was unfair that we should be taught to love God more than our parents. She stated that it was she who had carried us in her womb, gave birth to us, fed and changed our diapers, and raised us, not God. He had no right to claim allegiance over her. Needless to say, we never went back to Sunday school, and my father stopped attending church as well.
After this, atheism pervaded my family life. Mention of God was not allowed. Church attendance was forbidden. And the name of our Lord used only as a curse word. When I was ten, we moved to a neighborhood in very close proximity to the Lutheran Church and a Catholic Church. Our neighborhood was Catholic and I used to see several families walk to Mass on Sunday. My heart yearned and ached to go with them, but I knew I could not. Just like you, I had such a Catholic shaped hole in my heart that needed to be filled.
One day I decided to get up the gumption and attend Mass with my Catholic friend. That experience all the more convinced me that Jesus was there, in the Catholic Church. I secretly bought a rosary. Alas, my mother found it one day and had a serious talk with me. How could I hurt her so? It would have been bad enough if I were attending the Lutheran Church, but the Catholic Church. That was out of the question!! For several months after this incident, I attended Mass covertly. I would wake up very early and attend the earliest Mass before my family woke up. Sometimes this was interspersed with attending the Lutheran Church as well. Eventually I stopped attending altogether.
Fast forward to the present. I do understand your dilemma of having one foot in Protestantism and one in Catholicism. We love our Protestant brothers and sisters, and their love of sacred scripture. But we fear their rejection of us should we tell them about our journey toward Catholicism. We love the reverence, awe and majesty of God that we sense in the Catholic Church. We have discovered that The Lord's Supper, the Holy Eucharist, is more than just a memorial meal. The Eucharist is the Real Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, body, blood, soul and divinity. We cannot help but be drawn to His Church.
Yesterday, I attended Sunday school at the nondenominational church, of which I am still a member. Then I drove 24 miles to attend Mass. My husband was at home in bed, getting over an upper respiratory infection. I saw this as an opportunity to go to Mass. This back and forth will eventually become laborious, but for now, I must attend church with my husband. Unlike your situation, my husband is very much against me becoming Catholic. I cannot state that emphatically enough.
I do understand the anti-Catholic sentiment of your friends. I have been there myself, but thanks to God's mercy, He has opened my eyes. It is because I understand that anti-Catholic bias very well (lived it and live with it now), I realize that only the grace of God can penetrate it. Pray for your freinds and family - pray earnestly and consistently for them. St. James says "The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects." KJV says, "The prayer of a righteous man avails much." So pray and live a holy, faithful Christian life. These two things will be a godly testimony to those around you. They will witness the Catholic faith in action, even if they do not admit it to one another.
My prayers are with you, Shyla. Journey on sister, toward the barq of Peter, and do not be afraid.
Darlene
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. II Corinthians 13:14
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Talithacumi
Member
| Joined: | Sat Sep 30th, 2006 |
| Location: | Eastern Ohio, USA |
| Posts: | 260 |
| First Name: | Cheri | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Cradle Catholic - Latin Rite |
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Posted: Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 01:20 am |
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shyla214 wrote: Hello everyone -
I am writing today asking for prayer and support. Please read my prior post for background into where I am today.
Just a little over a year ago, I felt very convicted about contraception and studied the Church's view on it. I felt so peaceful about the teaching and wanted to come into line with it and my husband is very supportive. Since that time, I have had three miscarriages. I had never had any before. Please hear me, I'm not taking this as a "bad sign" or anything...I just want to do all I can to keep Jesus' Lordship over that part of my life. Right now I am pregnant again but things don't seem to be going well. Please pray for this new little life inside me and that God would guide me through this, whatever happens. Thank you so much. By the way we have three children right now.
I also wanted prayer because I am contacting the Father of the Catholic Church I attend on Saturday nights to pursue coming into full communion with the Church...
Sincerely, Shyla
Shyla,
Hello. Good to see you on here again! Congratulations on your pregnancy! I will certainly keep you in my prayers and ask that all will go well this time. It must have been hard for you having three miscarriages since you decided to follow the Church's teachings on contraception. It does seem almost as if you are being tested.
I try to do a daily reading of the Bible. Right now I'm in the Book of Job. Job was an upright man of God who always did what was right before the Lord, but Satan insisted to God that if Job's blessings were taken away he would turn against God. God told Satan that he could go ahead and try to turn Job against Him. So Satan tried, but Job remained faithful. Satan took away everything that Job had. But in the end, because Job persevered, God blessed him even more.
St. Paul also says somewhere in his epistles something to the effect that - and I'm paraphrasing, using my mom's rendition: If things are going too easy in your life then you'd better start to worry; if Satan isn't bothering you with trials it's because he doesn't need to because he's already got you.
All I'm saying, I guess, is that if you're having trials related to your conversion... you must be doing something right   . God will carry you through somehow. "Everything works to the good for those who love God," as it says in Romans 8.
One thing: you are truly blessed in your husband. So many don't have supportive spouses/ loved ones. I've never been married and I've never been on that "from Other Religion -to- Catholic" road of conversion, but I dated a man (a non-Catholic Christian - he refused to call himself "Protestant") for years. He found it hard to accept me as a Catholic (mostly because of his family and church's influence) and in the end he just couldn't respect me enough in my faith and he dumped me and married someone else  . All I'm saying is that you are indeed blessed to have a husband who supports you in your decision to become Catholic, even if he doesn't think he himself will convert (yet!  ).
It is very hard when you've got others telling you that if you become (or in my case, remain) Catholic you're going straight to Hell. As a "lifer" myself, I've had my share of looks of pity and/or well-intended words meant to set me on the "right" path away from the "Highway to Hell" so to speak. I've had to put up with the Jack Chick tracts placed under the wipers on my windshield in the hope that I might just be influenced to leave the "Whore of Babylon." And yeah, I've even been literally shunned (by my ex bf's family) because of my Catholic faith. But never fear, Shyla dear!  God is with us! Keep the Faith, sister! We're all pulling for you!
JMJ
- Cheri
____________________
“We do not want a Church that will move with the world; we want a Church that will move the world.”
- G.K. Chesterton
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shyla214
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| Joined: | Wed Jan 3rd, 2007 |
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Posted: Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 01:03 pm |
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Darlene and Cheri
I so appreciate both your words. Darlene, I wholeheartedly agree with you in believing that only the grace of God will break through the hard hearts of those set against the Church. It's not in debate or trying to convince them, because their highest priority is being RIGHT. My highest priority (what I strive for it to be,) is love. Jesus didn't come to set us straight on our doctrines, He came to set us straight on love. When it becomes more important to be right than to love, there is a problem. So, I feel badly for my friend but I will pray consistantly for the love and grace of God to open up His heart.
Cheri - I have thought about the testing part too, in regards to all this difficulty since adopting the belief of the Church on contraception. That could very well be true. No matter what, I intend to do all I can to give glory to God in this area of my life (and every area, I hope!)
I really thank you for the thoughts, for taking the time to share, and for praying. You have both blessed me.
In Jesus, Shyla
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Steven Barrett
Member
| Joined: | Tue Nov 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | Hadley, Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 796 |
| First Name: | Steven | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic, Episcopal communicant, Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 01:36 pm |
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 Shyla, Your testimony is great! And you're both Blessed and fortunate to have a supportive spouse. Not only that, congrats on your pregnancy and I hope n' pray you'll have a healthy child.
For a while I felt like the loneliest Catholic in the world. But I took my time and groped around for this or that "solution" to ease my returning back to Catholicism without causing an unnecessary uproar. Eventually, and fortunately, my dear wife of almost 24 years realized how strongly I desired to return to the Catholic Church. But she also had the reassurance that I wasn't going to try and round up everyone and march them off to the nearest RCIA classes. Only she and our youngest would have to attend since our first three children were baptized in the Catholic Church.
Some of the kids think it's strange, but they're polite and respectful. Although my oldest son gave me a belly laugh when he said "Dad, I never thought you were crazy for going back to the Catholic Church - because I always thought you were crazy." To which I had to "straighten him out" by pointing out that I was off-the-wall-in-spades-nuts. Gotta get facts straight, right?
Nowadays I do a little "mental editing" whenever I hear Waylon Jennings' song, "I've always been crazy but it keeps me from going insane." All I have to do is drop the crazy and replace it with Catholic. Although I wandered, I have always been Catholic. Once in, always in. No such thing as a merely lapsed "ex-Catholic."
Seriously, though; you are heading in the right direction and fret not that you're alone. You're only as far away from help as your computer.
God Bless you and your (growing) family and welcome!
Steven Last edited on Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 01:40 pm by Steven Barrett
____________________
For anyone suffering from a mental illness or has a loved one with a mental illness, my book "Lead kindly Light: A Devotional For The Mentally Ill" might be of some help: http://www.lulu.com/ (Use search box at the top of page.)
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shyla214
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| Joined: | Wed Jan 3rd, 2007 |
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| Posts: | 5 |
| First Name: | none given | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | none given |
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Posted: Tue May 29th, 2007 09:48 pm |
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Hello my friends,
I wanted to let you know that I'm now 12 weeks pregnant and an ultrasound last week showed a healthy baby with a strong heartbeat! I cannot tell you how overjoyed and grateful we are. My husband and I both thank you for the prayers.
We are moving across the country soon so I decided to start my conversion process once we get settled, so as to have continuity within the same parish, instead of breaking it up during our moving process. I'm so excited to get started. I regularly attend mass on Saturday evenings and look forward so much to receiving communion in the Church and being a full member.
Our heartfelt thanks to each of you for support and prayers. I hope to post again on here after our move...I'll let you know what I think of RCIA! Ha! :-)
Shyla
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JillD
Member
| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Visalia, California USA |
| Posts: | 678 |
| First Name: | Jill | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | heathen, EvFree, Messianic, LC-MS, Catholic 2007 |
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Posted: Wed May 30th, 2007 12:09 am |
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Dear Shyla,
Congratulations! May all your new beginnings - new home, new baby, new Church - bring you much joy and may God strengthen you for each.
Sincerely,
Jill
____________________
"I praise you, for I am wondrously made. Wonderful are our works! You know me right well; my frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth." Psalm 139
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Credo Catholic
Member
| Joined: | Sat May 5th, 2007 |
| Location: | Greenville, South Carolina USA |
| Posts: | 1268 |
| First Name: | Marsha | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Wed May 30th, 2007 01:00 am |
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| All best wishes for you and your husband and beautiful baby. I will remember to keep you all in my prayer list. Please do keep us posted about your journey. God Bless!
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Steven Barrett
Member
| Joined: | Tue Nov 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | Hadley, Massachusetts USA |
| Posts: | 796 |
| First Name: | Steven | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic, Episcopal communicant, Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Wed May 30th, 2007 10:57 am |
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Shyla,
Welcome to the forum, and congratulations upon your pregnancy. Here's some wisdom from the late Fr. Henri Nouwen to give you cheer -- "We are born in intimate communion with the God who created us in love. belong to the God from the moment of our conception." (Road to Daybreak, p. 48.)
Cheri,
Your ex bf did you a super favor even if he and his family may never get the point. I used to bristle whenever somebody would try to "cheer" me up saying something like "it wasn't intended by God to succeed." Truth is, He did have a hand in the breakup and saved you a hell of a lot of grief. And it would've been hell, judging from the shunning you're still getting. Garth Brooks' "God's unanswered prayers" song is far more accurate than many of us appreciate.
And as always, Darlene's wise counsel should be followed to a "T". (Pardon my cliche, as I'm only working on half a cup of coffee so far.) Whenever I
get a little down and wonder why I'm playing the Lone Ranger as head of the house no less, Darlene's story always does a wonderful job of putting things into a more proper perspective as how things could always be tougher. At least my wife is much more understanding lately. Perhaps a growing dissatisfaction with our family's church has something to do with it. I simply honor her by not bugging one way or another.
What's great about this forum is the fact that we're not walking alone. It does seem a bit odd that we here in the land of the free have to feel like strangers at times in our own land -- and we're the largest single Church in the country, no less! -- but that's how it is. Thanks to the forum, none of us will be alone. We're all holding each other up.
Thank God for this forum and the whole Coming Home Network system of support and information.
S.
____________________
For anyone suffering from a mental illness or has a loved one with a mental illness, my book "Lead kindly Light: A Devotional For The Mentally Ill" might be of some help: http://www.lulu.com/ (Use search box at the top of page.)
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