This story is one of many that could be told from this time of challenge and fear. As in any complex situation, multiple threads can be followed and multiple stories told.
Years ago I was in a very difficult situation and received the unvarnished message that I was to make a major change. There were many factors to consider because it would affect other people and also change family finances. It was very clear that I was to do this but I could not imagine either how or when. I also did not know how to talk about it in my family. However, since the message had so clearly come from God, I decided to go into prayer, expecting to be led further.
I sat in the silence, waiting to be led to the first step, waiting for clarity about how to untangle from this difficult place. I waited in the silence. And I sat day after day. The practice of sitting in the silence was very deep. Life around me continued as usual. And every morning, I again sat in the silence, waiting for the leading to emerge. There was never a question about the initial message: that remained solid and unequivocal. That clarity matched the mystery about how. And over time, a third piece emerged just as strong as the first two: that I was deeply held, loved, and doing just as I should. And so the daily practice of silent waiting continued. For nine months (9!).
Suddenly, a series of events occurred that were unimaginable. And in the midst of these changes, somehow, those around me recognized that I no longer belonged where I had been. They released me to leave, to go from this situation, and to be creative in rebuilding that part of my life. There was joy surrounding some of the most difficult parts and even acceptance where I had expected none.
This experience remained a mystery to me for years. Why did I never receive any leadings about how to make it happen? Why had I received the initial message so many months before the changes? Why had it taken so very long? Finally now, many years later, I recognize that change was happening day by day. Over those nine months change came both within and around me. Within, I experienced the sense of being held, saw again daily that this coming change was right, and built trust. Around me, change came because of the changes within me. I was gradually, slowly, withdrawing from the situation. It was so slow and gradual that I did not see it. Nor was it seen by those around me. And yet the entire situation was transformed.
In the end, it simply unfolded. Although very difficult, it was also profound. And now I understand: it happened because I waited. And waited and waited. It happened because I waited together with Spirit, sitting in the Presence of Love and Peace.
—Pat M.