"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." – Proverbs 27:17
It has been nine years since I graduated from 8th grade at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic School in Tampa, FL, home to the Crusaders. During my last year at MHR all of the 8th graders were assigned a Kindergarden buddy. It was our responsibility, as the older students, to hold our buddy's hand and walk them to the church for all-school Mass. We also played games with the Kindergardeners and helped them out with arts and crafts. Thankfully, God placed me with a little angel named Catie. I have some great memories of being her "Secret Santa" and watching her fall asleep at nap time.
Over the years I kept in contact with Catie and her beautiful family. Since we both attend the same local parish I would see her every now and then at Mass on Sunday mornings. Her father also became a deacon and is very much involved with the church at St. Paul's in Tampa. Now, Catie is 14-years-old and I watched her last night graduate from 8th grade at Most Holy Redeemer like I did nine years ago.
What a blessing! I am so thankful to still be friends with Catie. I even promised her way back then that I would attend her MHR graduation, and I'm so happy I did! I'm very proud of the young woman she has flourished into and I know she will become even more spectacular as she heads off to high school next year.
With high school in mind, I gave her a copy of the book How To Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul by Jason and Crystalina Evert. This book was such a blessing for me and I wished I had read it during my high school years. Although I couldn't have, because it wasn't published back then, I know that she has the opportunity to read it now and apply all of the Evert's great advice to her future relationships.
And for all of those young men and women out there who are in a similar situation, waiting and praying for your future spouse, here is a novena prayer I found to St. Agnes—the patron saint of unmarried couples.
St. Agnes, although you were only a child, you believed that Jesus was alway with you; help us to remember that He is also with us and to remain true to His presence.
St. Agnes, you refused to give up your faith, help us to be proud of our faith to love it, to be strong in it, and to give witness to it daily.
St. Agnes, patron saint of unmarried couples, watch over my future husband/wife and I. Please keep us strong in our faith, committed to chastity and virginity until marriage. Be with us and always pray for us. Amen.
Just like I gave Catie a copy of the Soulmate book, I pray that you too will grow in the light of Christ in your own personal relationships. Ask St. Anges for her intercession and I guarantee she will not let you down! But as I mentioned in my pervious blog post, A Love Worth Waiting For, it may take some time before you meet the right person you are meant to be with. Every milestone in our lives takes patience to complete. It is something that cannot be rushed. Just like graduating from middle school, high school, and college... it all takes time. Relationships also take time to develop and grow in Christ's love.
So as I see it, enjoy the moments we have now. You never know if you'll have tomorrow, so celebrate life today! If it is God's will then everything you can hope for and possibly dream of will happen in His own good time. Probably the hardest part of it all is just giving Him our heart's desires and letting Him have complete control. In doing this, God can work through other people to help guide you. And just as I guided Catie to weekly Mass when she was in Kindergarden, I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you follow a pure lifestyle in your personal relationships and all of your future endeavors.
