Catholic Singles

SOMETIMES THE ANSWER IS "NO"
BY: MARK ANTHONY ROSOLOWSKI



Have you ever said a prayer asking God to grant you a special favor, a special request, to fulfill a dream? Of course you have, so have I and so has every other person in the world. Not one of us is exempt from asking for favors from God, after all who better to ask. Then as you pray on the same thing time and time again, you notice nothing happens. You question, isn't God listening, doesn't God care? The answer is yes, He is listening, and He does care. Just like every other parent in the world He sometimes tells His children, "No, you cannot have that." Remember, God has His plan for us, He is looking out for our best interest, He does love us, and He does know better.

Thinking back, I remember a love that I had when I was in the 7th grade, how I wanted her to be mine. We dated a few times and every night I would kneel and pray and ask God to make it so, to make it so that she wanted me as much as I wanted her. After a few months we broke up, I do not remember why, we just broke up. I ran into her a few days ago, I noticed how she had changed, how as she grew older her attitude towards God had changed, she had become a bitter, despondent woman. She saw me as I struggled to walk with my cane and just asked me, how could I still believe in God with all the bad things that had happened to me? As I gave her my thoughts, she shook her head, said you are still immature, you still believe in God. With that she turned and walked away, I thought of my prayers asking her to be mine, I immediately looked up and thanked God for saying, “No”.

This got me to thinking as well about other things that I had asked for and had not received. As I looked back on these things it occurred to me, that when I did not get what I asked for, everything turned out better for me. If God had granted me my prayer, I would be in an unhappy marriage, with a woman who believes it is immature to believe in God. In stead, God led me to a woman who became my wife, who lifted me higher then I could have ever dreamed of. She supported me in all my dreams and all my aspirations. She had a love for God that equaled mine and was sometimes greater then mine. She showed me how to be strong and not lose faith when you had adversity in your life, that it was all in a big plan, it was all for a reason.

As she was dying, I remember asking God to let her stay with me, I promised Him I would take care of her, she would never feel like a burden, I would always love her, I begged Him to let me keep her. His answer to me was “No”, I did not accept that answer at first, but now that I too am disabled I know I would of had to put my wife in a nursing home so she would have gotten the proper care, I know how much she would have hated that, I also know it would have devastated me to put her into a nursing home. With this realization, I do thank God, for using His Fatherly wisdom and telling me “No”. As I move on now I continue to pray to God to ask Him to guide me to another love, I know His answer to that is “Yes”, I know as I reach out to the women He will let it happen in His time, He is saying “No” right now, one day He will say “Yes” and I will understand the reason foe the, “No”.