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"I Found God and Did not Need Anything Else!"


By Fr. Andrew Lemeshonok

We make our way through life within the framework of our time on earth. The time we have left continues to run forward. The path to eternity begins here, on earthly terms. Yet the eternal life is only in God. As long as I myself know everything, I understand everything; I live in a time that is decaying. But when the Lord acts through me, I begin to defeat this earthly time and eternal life prevails. And then there is no need to hurry, fuss, rush and run...

I remember my own path to God, coming to church. A soul that lived in darkness, which did not know God, saw the light, experienced true joy. After that, I tried to hide somewhere, so that no one would bother me, because I had everything that I ever needed. The Lord gave me life. I found God, and I did not need anything else. My life was complete now that I was with God.

Then, a time comes when you begin to lose God, another life begins; the suffering of the soul begins. The soul grieves that it did not hold on to the grace of God, that it ruined everything with sin and most importantly was ungrateful to the Lord for the gift of life. Yet these torments of the soul should be considered a blessing because they are the shining beacon that is the opportunity to seek God. You cannot suppress the pain that comes with a loss; you cannot distract yourself from it with something of this earth, some errands, worldly cares or joys. The soul can no longer live on this dashboard of secular time which is constantly spinning, circulating and finally stops. Therefore, together our path is towards eternity. When we think about everything and anything, we must measure it with a measure of eternity, and consider whether it pleases God or not.

We must keep in mind that the immortality of the soul is of the utmost importance. And the soul begins to come alive when it is suffering from sin. Until that moment, a person, does not see or notice sin and thinks that he or she is better than other people. And only when a person finally sees the truth, the silence takes over the overly proud state of mind. A person will no longer speak in vain, indulge in self-admiration, but instead will remain silent and try to hold on to God in their heart. And if God is within us, then human words are not needed, instead only silence is needed in order to hear the word of God. I think that we cannot now say to anyone and everyone: "Go to church, pray, partake of the Holy Mysteries ..." It's terrible to say such words. It is nothing like going to the store, or going for a walk... And if the Heavenly Father does not call upon you, you will go nowhere.

The most important thing is that God needs to be within us. Then we will see the meaning of life while undertaking any obedience, even one that requires a broom or a mop. We must remember to “not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19) and remember to nurture the Spirit of God within us.

May 29, 2018
St. Elisabeth Convent

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