A couple of weeks ago I was leaving the doctor’s office when I noticed a nun sitting by the elevator talking on her phone. I pressed the elevator button and stared at her willing her to get off the phone. I grew up with nuns and went to a very private Catholic school and was taught by cloistered nuns so I have this thing for them, they fascinate me. As the elevator arrived, Sister hung up her phone. I quickly ignored the parting doors and turned my focus to my fascination sitting on the bench in her traditional black and white habit. I asked her, “Are you a nun?” What a profound question for me to ask. She replied that she was and I proceeded to ask her a ton of questions. We stood there for over 30 minutes as she shared fascinating, magical tales about her life. Not only was she a nun but she was a Mother Superior! This may not mean much to many of you, but to me, that meant I needed to curtsey and I did! We had a wonderful conversation outside those elevator doors.
The reason I share this story with you was the magical, miracle stories she shared with me reminded me of my youth. My mother was very spiritual. I say spiritual because although she was a Catholic and she practiced many of the Catholic traditions she was also open minded to all things spiritual and magical. She taught me to believe in magic. I remember as a kid how she would set the alarm every hour on the hour when she was doing one of her special Novenas, praying for a miracle to happen. My mother struggled raising the four of us by herself with no family to speak of. She would say Novenas when she really needed a miracle to occur. I remember once we were walking into a funeral parlour and as we opened the first door to the outside foyer, she exclaimed excitedly: “Do you smell that, Marilyn? Do you smell that?” I sniffed the air, did not smell a thing, and replied “no.” She asked me, “Can’t you smell the roses? My Novena is coming true!’ She had just spent days praying to St. Theresa about something she really needed to happen. The legend goes if the prayer is answered, you will either receive a rose or the smell of roses. I didn’t smell a thing but my mother did and lo and behold her prayer was answered! Another time my mother shared with me how she was sitting in the kitchen just looking at the paper and she said “Marilyn, I heard loud and clear right outside my ear a man’s voice say ‘There is an afterlife.”” She went on to say; “I know it’s true. It wasn’t in my head it was like he was sitting right next to me when he said it.” She looked at me, beaming full of peace and said, “Marilyn, I know there is an afterlife.” Magical stories believing in things that you cannot see, is what my mother raised me on. Beautiful and magnificent miracles of prayers being answered at the most difficult of times.
These past few years, I have been working so hard on my own trust and faith. As I share my stories of belief in God I want you to know I truly don’t care whether you believe in God or not, but I do find that believing in something is very important. Believing that someone or something has your back makes life so much easier. For a few years I have been working on getting my faith back and trusting that God/Source/The Universe was truly hearing my prayers. You know that I believe in Guides, in fact my whole work depends on them, and even though they were giving me consistent information and direction, I was ignoring them and looking for something grander. I wanted to talk to God (I know that my Guides are a form of God but my stubbornness had set in). I desired more knowledge and wanted to know how the world operated, why we are here, what we are meant to do, where do we go and all the daunting questions that enter anyone’s mind who is on a Spiritual path. I kept studying, praying, meditating, reading and listening as I fumbled in and out of my trust towards God. This year as I grew so much deeper in my belief that all changed. I knew when things didn’t go well that I was still okay. That they didn’t happen because there was some bigger plan, something I needed to learn, that something I need to get ready for and prepare even more for, that something bigger and greater was happening.
After my nun experience, where she shared her magical, miracle stories with me and after a few more things in my life occurred, my faith shifted into complete 100% focused belief. I woke up one morning and felt my faith deeply and knew this faith was unwavering this time. Knowing I wasn’t alone and that everything I did, every decision I made, all of it was between God and me. Nothing could ever go wrong because I was fully connected with Source.
There is more to this story that solidifies this new, unwavering faith. Last year, I leased my dream car. With this dream car I received Sirius XM Radio free for the first three months. My two favorite stations were Howard Stern and Joel Osteen. Yes, that basically sums up my personality. After the three month trial period ended, my Sirius XM Radio disappeared except for the Joel Osteen station. For months I would listen to Joel on my radio and wonder, is everyone getting this for free? Is this some special deal Joel Osteen Radio has? I even asked my assistant Janet about it. Then I received something via e-mail from Joel Osteen about joining Sirius XM Radio and I thought, I don’t think I’m supposed to be receiving this for free. Now I am one of those uber honest people. Too honest. If a restaurant bill comes to me and they don’t charge me for something, I tell them. I just don’t believe in letting those things go, but my free Sirius XM radio, playing only Joel Osteen, felt like it was my own personal Miracle. It was like it was meant for me to have. So I kept quiet, listened to him, and figured one day I would ask Sirius about it, then probably pay them back for all that time I used it.
On the day I woke up with my connection to Source realization, where I knew I was never turning back, I went for a hike. I listened to Joel driving to my hiking destination and when I was on the trails I thanked God for all the amazing glorious gifts in my life. The last year, even with all its trials and tribulations, was still absolutely miraculous and I finally, fully understood this deep realization I had arrived at. As I walked the trails, speaking to God and my Guides, I said to myself, I bet I will no longer have my free Joel Osteen station because I now know my truth. The next day, I woke up, got in my car and you guessed it, the station was gone. I knew it was because I no longer needed to hear the words spoken to me. The words were imprinted in my heart, mind and soul. I knew what my truth was and I knew I was no longer alone. I did however purchase Sirius XM as a gift to myself on Christmas Eve. Now I can listen to Joel again and find some other raunchy person on Sirius to listen to because it’s all about balance.
Shortly after this experience I was having a conversation with a friend and I told her how I would love to find a church or Spiritual place that practiced all religions. A place where I could go and be taught by leaders from all of them. The next day I went to a church with a friend and on the altar they had 10 unlit candles. The pastor explained, “Right now we are going to invite up 10 of our youth as they recite prayers and light candles from all the different religions because they are all beautiful and come from a space of love, and that is true religion.”
I share all this with you because I want you to realize you are not alone. Miracles are around us all the time. All we have to do is believe. When you open your eyes and truly believe and know you are the most perfect creation on this earth, you start recognizing synchronicity and you see and experience Miracles every day of your life. This truth, this belief, this faith, this trust that I have makes my life truly magical. I trust every moment and it continues to expand and grow beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Maybe you are having a difficult time and you aren’t sure you believe in Miracles. Just get up, walk over to a mirror, look at yourself and realize: You ARE a Miracle.
