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That presence inside the crisis

Financial crisis began for me years ago when I found myself alone bringing up eight children. I had not worked outside of the home in 18 years. Within the first year, the beautiful home went into foreclosure...

Financial crisis began for me years ago when I found myself alone bringing up eight children. I had not worked outside of the home in 18 years. Within the first year, the beautiful home went into foreclosure. I was told that the children would not be able to attend the elementary school in our parish any longer since there was a waiting list of families that could pay. Every day presented a new crisis–a roof over our heads, groceries, heating and electric bills, transportation, etc. We had nothing, yet we had everything. We had our Faith. Everyday, I prayed, “Jesus, I trust in You.” After four months with several organizations helping me look for a place that we could rent, we finally found a very generous man who agreed to rent a home to me on seven acres of land, with a pond and a river. Raising teenage boys alone was quite a challenge. Good role models were imperative. Christ became present in our lives through the Church. He feeds us through the Sacraments, and through His presence in our priests and the community. Many good men have stepped in to mentor my sons. I mistakenly thought that everything that came before this was given either by my husband or that I had obtained it through my own talents. I thought that my happiness depended on my husband and what we owned. I now know that I am kept in existence by Another. My income will never be enough to provide for what we need. My small cleaning business and a summer job at a day camp provide a very meager income. My business has suffered during this current economic crisis. I have lost customers due to the loss of their businesses. I have looked unsuccessfully for a fulltime job for almost a year now. In spite of all this, we have never been without a roof over our heads or food in our stomachs. At this point in time, my daughter is a teacher in a school in Switzerland; two of my sons live on their own; five sons live at home; one is in college, one is working fulltime, one is in Catholic high school, and two are in middle school. Someone said to me the other day, “I don’t know how you do it!” The truth is, I don’t do it, Christ does it. He has never abandoned us. He provides all that we need. My hope lies in the memory of what Christ has already done in our life. Each time I find myself in front of a new crisis, Christ asks me, “Do you trust Me even in this?” As Fr. Peter Cameron says in Jesus Present Before Me: “Christ comes to us in the criticalness of our human condition, in the powerlessness of the circumstances and the crisis over which we have no control.”

Liesse Lynch (USA)