Saint Faustina Kowalska was born on August 25, 1905. She is the patron of Divine Mercy.
69 years later Kristin ‘The Carmelite’ Nealon Wilson and her twin sister Kathleen was born.
And she almost died.
Due to the intercession of the first American born saint Saint Elizabeth Anne Seaton, God showed mercy on her and allowed her to live after successful open heart surgery saved her life. 50 years later she is still roaming around this earth. Her life turned out different then she thought it might.
She wanted to be a nun but is instead a married lay Carmelite.
The child we sponsor through Unbound named Rohini from India turns 15 while Kristin and Kathleen turn 50.
When Kristin was 15 she wanted to save the world and had the energy to do it.
Today her energy is gone and is unemployed due to her disability.
But she keeps on going with faith, hope and love and offers this reflection on reaching half a century.
Kristin Writes...
So, a half a century.
Yeah about half of my life was spent in the twentieth century and the other half in the twenty-first century.
I was born in 1974. August 25th.
Instead of rambling on about my life these past fifty years
I will ramble on about the best things God has given me in my life and gives all of us if we seek.
God Gives Life.
I will start with God giving me life as well as giving me His life. All our lives are different but we are all called to seek to do always and only His will. We do this because He created us and loves us unconditionally. God gave His life when He, Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, both God and Man, suffered terribly and died on that cross at Calvary for us.
So what can I do with the rest of my life?
I can listen to God in quiet prayer.
I can talk to Him.
I can pray for people in need and find ways to serve them.
I can seek to do always and only His will.
I know I will fall.
What I do, or fail to do can be a chance to seek reconciliation.
This reconciliation can help me grow more deeply in love with Christ.
The Sacraments are an important part of my very being.
My life as a Secular Carmelite (OCDS) is a big part of my journey that will last until I have left this world for the heights of Heaven.
I am not counting on longevity,
though God’s will be done not mine in this matter, and all others.
This life is a gift and God must want me on Earth here and now, though I no not why.
God’s ways are not ours.
This makes understanding so much more of a mystery for spiritual seekers.
I am called, as we all are, to seek to become saints.
Some saints have died young and others have lived long on this Earth.
At fifty I can see I have far to go.
I am thankful that God is loving and merciful.
I am thankful that those who are suffering horribly have the hope of eternal bliss.
My spiritual journey has many surprises, twists and turns, disappointments and joys.
Assuming I still live another day or another half century it will have more of the same.
This should bring growth, deep spiritual growth for all of us.
A stagnant relationship with God
without us loving him,
trusting Him,
no matter what,
even if there is dryness or suffering is us becoming complacent.
I don’t want to become complacent for the final years of my life.
I want to love as Christ loves me.
I want to love others, even when it is difficult or takes sacrifice.
Look at what Christ sacrificed for us.
It is good to search or to question if the search/question causes you to grow in greater love.
This past fifty years
I have searched,
questioned,
gotten up to keep seeking and to grow in love of Christ and all that intailes.
That is what I want for the rest of my life.
I want that for every person.
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