"Burn off"

September 2025

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever.  Praise be His most Holy and Venerable Name.  Praise Him, who was, is, and is to come.  

Thanks be to God for all His benefits.  Thanks to Him who gives His very self to all of us, to each of us.  Thanks to Him for all that He is and all that He does.  

I am sorry, God, for all the times I have failed to notice Your Presence, Your Truth, Your Work, Your Word, Your Will, and Your Grace in my life.  Forgive me Lord for my stubbornness, short-sightedness, forgetfulness, blindness.  Forgive me.  

This school year, I have been called to weekly Wednesday Adoration.  This weekly time began in a most wondrous way.  The first thing I did after my initial time of simple Adoration was to give to God ALL that was on my mind and in my heart and ALL that was weighing on me.  It began not just by sitting at Jesus’s feet, but also by feeling prompted to notice the candle on the altar.  

I know I am not alone in loving candlelight.  There is something about a flame that is mesmerizing, but what God had me focus on was the lack of smoke or “burn off” that I could clearly see.  All I noticed was the flame and flickering until I snapped a picture and zoomed into the shadow of the candle.  That is when I could plainly see the shadow of the steady stream of smoke.  

I could sense in my prayer time God revealing to me:

Not every effect can be seen clearly.  You cannot be made aware of ALL that My Work, My Word, My Will, My Grace is accomplishing.  Trust is required.

He was reminding me that He is ALWAYS – always blessing, always working, always loving.  Even when we are unaware of it, He is ALWAYS there.  Despite our blindness, despite our deafness, despite our weakness, despite our forgetfulness, despite our stubbornness, He is ALWAYS. 

It is such a surprise to me that He has to remind me of this reality so very often!  How forgetful I am!  Why do I hold onto worry or turn problems around in my mind?  Is it because I am blind?  Is it because I lack trust?  Maybe it is just because I am human, limited, unlike Him.  

I was always taught that the candles, along with other elements of our worship and praise, symbolized our prayers and petitions constantly being raised to Him.  I do not doubt that for one second, but it is new to me to think of it as a symbol of all that we DO NOT SEE.  We will not always be given the privilege of seeing what God is doing in our lives or the lives of our loved ones.  We do not necessarily see healing, conversion, forgiveness, love, mercy.  These are UNSEEN, but the effects of them can be noticed!  Even if we do not notice the effects, that does not mean that God is not working!  That is when we are practicing trust!  We must continue to do our part - usually involving loving, forgiving, praying.  God IS doing His part, ALWAYS. 

What is God allowing you to see? Can you see how He is working? Can you see the effects ? Share, share, share; you never know who needs to hear your God story.