The Closest I Have Felt to God
The closest I have felt to God was when I was eight years old while making my First Holy Communion at Saint Benedict's Roman Catholic Church and also during the procession into mass while singing the beautiful hymns that the young nuns had taught us during cathechism classes.....such as:
"Holy God we Praise Thy Name..........
Lord of All, we bow before Thee,
All on earth Thy scepter claim
All in Heaven above adore Thee
Infinite Thy vast domain,
Everlasting is Thy name"
Childhood was a time of innocence when we believed what we were taught & also felt it within.......
This spiritual experience was later followed by feeling extremely close to God while holding our own newborn infants , realizing the innocence of the beautiful precious new souls in our arms...........as well as the newborn babies of our friends and family members over the years.......so many. Now grown with babes of their own.
Next, but no less in importance nor less in a sense of closeness to God, would be, for me, holding the frail wrinkled hand of my parents on their death beds...........as their souls departed...........and just knowing they would be o.k.
.........as well as the frail wrinkled hands of other elders in the nursing home/hospital......over the years.......as the end neared.......
........plus the passing of friends who passed too young at 39 & 50, not yet finished with their life's work..........yet knowing they were going into the next realm, one of a spiritual existence.......which we had to accept.......& being left behind to comfort their grieving spouses/children when there were no appropriate words...........but God helped us comfort them.....
Religion is man made, however, spirituality is felt within one's own soul & heart........the goodness of a person is more important than the church he attends..........such as the kindness in the heart of the man "facing the window" in the inspirational story below:
The Window
Author Unknown
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.
And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.
Days and weeks passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
Epilogue. . . .There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy. "Today is a gift, that's why it is called the PRESENT".
It goes without saying that I also feel close to GOD while in the mountains of Colorado, Vermont or Maine, etc. and also deep in the cool green forests.........where it is peaceful and silent.
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