A Place Prepared by God

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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Last Sunday, I ran to church. Not proverbially. I didn't have a car to use. I was staying at my parents’ house, within walking distance of a Catholic church. I planned to walk, but then I lost track of the time. I was ready (makeup done, in a skirt and sweater, with my purse packed), when I realized Mass was supposed to begin in three minutes. It would normally take 8 minutes to walk there.

So I ran. (In my track shoes. I switched to sandals before entering the church.)

I need to be better about time management in moments like this. Thankfully, I arrived toward the beginning of the liturgy, so I still heard the Word of God proclaimed. The first reading was from Revelation, in honor of the Feast of the Assumption. Although I was distracted by trying to slow my breathing from the intense run, I heard something beautiful!

“The woman herself fled into the desert
where she had a place prepared by God.”
-Rev. 12:6

A story of another woman on the run?! Ahem. The main word that caught my attention was, "a place prepared by God."

As I prayed about it over the week, I felt convicted to accept and to delight in the place that God has prepared for me.

Certainly, God has prepared a place for me in the desert of Arizona! From the home we rented in 2016, to the home we bought in 2020, there have been specific, desert places that God arranged for us. Even more graciously, God prepared a spiritual territory for me.

It's mind blowing to recall the healing that I was able to step into since our move to the desert. I always thought of the desert as a place to face your demons like Jesus did for forty days and forty nights. In last Sunday's passage from Revelation, we see how The Woman (Mary) is protected from a dragon in the desert.

I certainly have been protected. Not only has my body been healed and my mind found peace, but the Lord has revealed a specific place for my heart to settle. I can see a particular scenario unfolding in which my heart is meant to blossom and to bring forth new life. God has provided—and made a place—for me.

Do you recall this scripture about how faith can move mountains?

"Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
-Matthew 17:20

I saw a freshly-moved mountain the other day. A year ago, I visited Lake Michigan. There was a road near the parking lot of the beach. Whereas, last week, I revisited the Lake. Now, the same road is almost entirely covered by a sand dune! The mountain moved.

Scientifically, we could explain how time, wind, rain, snow, and erosion transported that mountain of sand into a different place than it was a year ago. Is it easier to believe that the mountain can move (because we can explain it with science!), than to believe the miracles that God has waiting for us?

What mountain needs to move in your life right now? Maybe there appears to be no way forward. God has already prepared the place for us. Will you join me in asking, in faith: "Lord, remove whatever mountains are standing between us and the place you have prepared for us to inhabit. Make a way, show us the path, give us strength, and we will follow."

Amen.

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