Over time, I have come to appreciate that whenever I find myself at a crossroad, or I’m unsure about what to do next, the best thing is to ask for guidance.
I find it quite sad that these days people are afraid to mention the name “God” – the Creator or even admit to acknowledging him. This is especially noticeable among many intellectuals and academics.
Even though, people would use all other terminology and descriptive words to refer to the entity God, still, they seem to feel very uncomfortable about it. I find it extremely unsettling that just because someone has acquired a high level of education, he/she suddenly refuses to acknowledge his/her own Maker!
I for one, I am conscientious of and grateful to my Creator. And it is at such moments, when I find myself at an impasse that I’m exceptionally grateful to know where to turn to. Then I pray and ask my Maker for guidance fully trusting in faith.
Here is a recent experience I had to demonstrate what I mean.
We have six adorable, tabby cats. When the oldest of them, Gipsy, became sick and our vet suggested putting him to sleep, I declined. I simply couldn’t bring myself to do it. And although most people may think that putting a sick animal to sleep is no big deal. To me, it is a huge step. For I perceive life as a great gift, and that includes all living things! After all, who am I to decide to end a life, when I am not able to create one?
As I struggled inwardly with my dilemma, I watched our Gipsy carefully and applied all my naturopathic knowledge on him. But his health continued to deteriorate. One day as I held him on my lap, gently stroking him, I looked into his trusting eyes. At that moment something inside me broke and I fervently prayed for guidance to know what to do. I felt calm as I went to bed that night.
The next day, things proceeded as normal. Gipsy was a little bit more agitated than usual, so I spent more time with him. And then something happened. The following morning Gipsy was no where to be found. At first, this didn’t worry me too much. We have a flap door for all our cats to come and go into the garden as they please. But when he still didn’t turn up by evening, I decided to go looking for him.
I searched our gardens and those of our neighbours with no results. I called my husband who was away at the time and told him what had happened. While listening to him trying to console me over the phone, it suddenly dawned on me that this could be the answer to my prayer. So I accepted it and made peace with the situation.
Days and weeks passed by with no sign of Gipsy. I sensed that he had crawled away to die alone in peace. Then one night I had a dream, in which I saw Gipsy running around happily in our garden. He looked healthy, radiant and strong.
Once again, an answer came in my moment of need and inner struggle. I feel deep gratitude. This lesson shows me clearly that we don’t have to struggle for anything, if we simply ask for guidance, and then surrender in trust.
And you, how do you deal with difficult situations when forced to make decisions?