Fiat!

17th December 2018

It's almost Christmas! And with adjusting to being back home in Wellington again, preparing for Christmas, and having to sort out presents for 10 people - I have 7 younger siblings 😅- and spend time with family again...it has been pretty busy! 

So it's been at the back of my mind, but I still haven't posted again (so this one is quite long to make up for it!), and I haven't been preparing as much as I should be for WYD - which is now only ONE MONTH AWAY!!

But God has still been using this time to help me prepare, without me even trying, or even knowing!

Mary's 'yes' to God is the scriptural theme for WYD 2019, and it keeps popping up during my days, especially in the lead up to Christmas (which I guess would not have happen without her 'fiat')!

NB: I just pictured Mary riding round in a Fiat....if you're confused that is not what I mean! 😂 Fiat is Latin for 'let it be done,' and we use it to describe Mary's 'yes' to God during the Annunciation. 

One of the things that reminded me of the WYD theme was a short Advent reflection video that I have been receiving daily from Dynamic Catholic. 

Check it out! It is really powerful: The Best Yes - Dynamic Catholic. 

The thing that struck me about this was SIMPLICITY.

It is true that God chooses the simple! Like it says Mary was a young, unmarried, 13 year old virgin in a quiet town just going about her everyday life. 

Yet God chose her! He takes our simplicity, and he does the impossible!  

It got me thinking - if God could choose and use Mary, even in her simplicity, then maybe he could use me! If I, like Mary, am willing to be open to what he is asking of me and simply say yes!

And then I thought, well I have said yes to him! I have given him my 'fiat.' Often in simple everyday things - because, let's face it - God doesn't ask someone to build an ark every single day, or fight a giant, or become Pope etc...😂 We have to choose to simply say yes to him in the little everyday missions he gives to us. As someone I know would say, even "cleaning the toilets for God!"

But sometimes in bigger things too! 

Two years ago, I chose to say yes to his call to mission, and I became a full time missionary in Christchurch,away from home, on the Catholic Youth Mission Team. It was difficult and challenging at times - but looking back I can definitely says it was the best thing I have ever done!! 

God took my simplicity, my quiet, shy nature, my background, my talents and gifts - and did the impossible and changed lives (hopefully!) through me!! All because I chose to say yes to him.  

And now, I have chosen to say yes again, in deciding to go to World Youth Day 2019!!!

And already I can see Him taking my simple yes and doing the impossible!

One thing that was stopping me from going to WYD was the cost - it was raised to $8000 for NZ pilgrims, and we were told we had less than a week to start paying...I spent ages in the chapel praying about what I should do. Once I made the decision to go,  I felt a huge sense of peace that has remained with me in all my preparation which could only come from God!

I imagine that once Mary gave her 'fiat' she must have felt God's gift of unexplainable peace too! Her mind, and those around her would have been like 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? THIS IS CRAZY! WHY WOULD GOD CHOOSE YOU? HOW CAN YOU BE PREGNANT??' etc......
But through it all she was at peace and knew she was doing the right thing, and God was with her.

One of yesterdays readings sums it up quite well 😍:

So I prayed about it, I thanked God, and then I left everything up to him. And he filled me with peace that he would provide.

And this is where the impossible comes in....He truly has!!

I have only been home 3 weeks, and fundraising for a little less than that, through selling gingerbread and rosary bracelets, and I also have a GiveaLittle page.

But in only 3 short weeks, thanks to the generosity of so many people, particularly my amazing parish - I have reached over $6500 !!!

Before I thought, 'I'll fundraise, and it will help, but there is no way I can reach that amount, especially because I am going to Panama in only a month!'

But God has done the impossible and now it is actually looking possible! He took my simple yes, my trust in him, and he provided in ways I could only imagine!

So to conclude; although my yes is wildly different to Mary's fiat (not her car...) - I am not pregnant with the Saviour of the World 😂😅 - but my yes is taking me to see her perfect baby's successor in Central America, with thousands of other young Catholics, to celebrate what her yes meant for us and what we can learn from her!

God is taking the simple, and doing the impossible! Fiat - so be it!! 

#fiat #notthecar #simplicity #nothingisimpossiblewithGod #finallyexcited #onemonthtogo  #cleanthetoiletforGod