God’s plans usually do not coincide with ours
God’s plans usually do not coincide with ours. Six months ago I could not have believed that God would bring me to
Medjugorje. I would not even have dreamed of it as neither my husband nor I had such plans or opportunities. But
still… We often seek miracles in our lives and when we wait silently in prayer for a long time then the miracle
happens because God is near us and He hears us… In recent years my relationship with my husband worsened and
one Sunday I went to confession. I said to the priest: “Father, I would really like everything between my husband and
me to be good but everything has reached a dead end, not only we but our children are suffering as well. What
should I do?” The priest replied calmly: “The choice is yours but in February spiritual retreats for married couples are
going to take place in Medjugorje. Would you like to go?” To go … I would definitely like to but what about my
husband? He is not a suitcase. I came back home and said: “What do you choose – either divorce or Medjugorje?” To
my great surprise my husband agreed to go to Medjugorje. Before our trip we had some troubles that interfered with
our plans but I continued praying and telling myself that I would not give up. And the trip happened. After my daily
routine I had strange and confusing feelings during the first few days. The lectures by Madam Professor were
incredibly interesting. Even my husband listened to them very attentively. We bought a rosary for him and I began to
teach him how to pray properly. And he even managed it really well. We took our son with us. He has Asperger’s
Syndrome and ADHD and to my great surprise his fingers also learned to move the beads of the rosary and he
prayed. He endured doing this the whole day! I had great hope that God would perform a miracle and that our son
would feel better. However there was no miracle in the first days. There were still misunderstandings between my
husband and me. I prayed sincerely and I was one step closer to despair. Once, while returning from prayer I heard a
conversation of people who had come with us. They said there was another pilgrimage group from Ukraine here with
a priest from Transcarpathia. And a thought came to my mind: “I want this priest to pray over my son!” Where could
I find him? Him – who? I did not even know who he was. The following day when the first part of the retreat had
ended and during the break we went to pick up our son (he is seven years old, while the parents were attending the
sessions the children were looked after by incredibly sweet girls from the “Light of Mary” community). And a nice
girl called Natalia said: “Now I am going to see Patrick and Nensi. Would you like to come with me?”. I had heard
about them before so I agreed. Arriving at the place we saw a Ukrainian group with three priests. After the meeting I
gathered my courage and asked one of the women if there was a priest with them who prayed over the sick. She
asked: “Father Peter?” But I knew nothing about him except that he is from Transcarpathia. The woman asked: “Do
you want him to pray over your son? If so then I will ask him about it”. And Father Peter agreed. My son had not
been sleeping well for a long time. There were weeks when he woke up several times at night and in the mornings he
was exhausted. Because of this he often had emotional breakdowns. Now I still wake up out of habit but he sleeps
calmly. My husband and I have also begun to understand each other much better. It goes without saying that life is not
simple, it is a task that requires more than one day.
Family life is hard work that requires patience, faith and love. But we must always pray and continue to learn. After
returning home my husband said to me: “The soul finds rest there. Every married couple should go there”.
Mariana