Moments that stretch us

I recall from my youth hearing a remarkable testimony on a Christian radio station. A blind guest spoke about being grateful for being without sight. She said that through it, God’s glory was amplified in her life in ways that with perfect sight she would not have seen. As a child, I could not understand how someone could speak with such peace, but that moment planted a seed in me that’s stayed ever since.

That memory returned to me recently as I walked with a dear friend through a terrible and unexpected ordeal. She spent six weeks in the hospital, facing pain, fear and physical limits that would have overwhelmed most people, that would’ve overwhelmed me. Yet what I witnessed was strength that grew from prayer, and healing that unfolded because she refused to lose hope. Her determination was fierce, and it was prayer that carried her. We clutched each other during some of her painful treatments, singing “Hail Mary” together. So many rosaries were offered on her behalf; and every one of them, I know, wove grace into her days. A multitude of prayer cards and bottles of Holy Water lined her window sill and every other available flat surface of her hospital room. When she was finally released, it felt like a quiet miracle, the kind granted lovingly by God through the faith of His people.

These experiences remind me that the trials we face do not shrink God’s glory. If anything, they reveal how near He truly is, how constantly He accompanies us, and how He transforms pain into an occasion for piety and unity.

May we never fear the moments that stretch us. They may be the very places where His glory is waiting to be seen.