Before turning 25, I believed the best way to handle trials and suffering in my life was to brush them off and deal with them on my own. Pain would just keep growing and I would have to manage it myself. It was only when I entered the adoration chapel, gazed upon Jesus in his true divinity within the monstrance, and allowed him to open my eyes to his love for me and his true nature, that I truly understood who he is.
When I was searching for relief or joy, my heart was yearning for Jesus, as opposed to someone or something to fill that void. God truly opened my eyes for the first time. He allowed me the grace to see Jesus.
The Holy Spirit set a fire in my heart. Before I knew it, I was practically living in the adoration chapel. Before and after work, I would spend hours in adoration. I truly couldn’t get enough time with Christ. Any hour that was open that needed a substitute, I would take. It was so fulfilling. One time, the 2 a.m. hour during daylight saving time weekend couldn’t get filled. I was informed after signing up that the hour would turn back, and I would have to serve two hours. What a bonus, a bonus hour with Jesus!
Through the fruits of adoration, Jesus launched me into a new life. In my early young adulthood, I found young adult groups of like-minded Catholics my age, struggling with the same things, and choosing to follow God through it all. Between church-hopping and seeking more opportunities to be involved in my faith, God led me to take a leap and sign up for a group in which I knew no one, Catholic Softball Group. God instilled his courage in me, and I’ve made true friendships and met my now husband, Tom. My husband and I have been truly formed and have grown deeper in our faith thanks to the St. Lawrence Newman Center young adult group and parish community in Minneapolis and Catholic Softball Group. We are very blessed by these communities.
God does not heal us too fast or too slow. He heals us in his good time. God has healed so many wounds within me. It’s what he does and it’s who he is. He is love.
Kirsh, age 28, is a member of St. Lawrence Catholic Church and Newman Center in Minneapolis. She is an engineer, a part-time graduate student at the University of Minnesota, Faith Experience coordinator in the St. Lawrence young adult group and confirmation catechist at St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park. Kirsh enjoys photography, playing any sport with a ball and playing softball with her husband, Tom, in the Catholic Softball Group. Tom’s essay will appear in the April 3 print edition of The Catholic Spirit.
