On July 30, 2019 I traveled to Lourdes, France.

It was my first pilgrimage to a Marian apparition site and a memorable experience!

In honor of the anniversary, I’m continuing my Lourdes Series.

Right after returning from the pilgrimage, I wrote a reflection.

I didn’t share the reflection then, so I’ll share it now…

Lourdes Reflection from 2019

Even though I knew I was called by God to Lourdes, I still experienced obstacles along the way. 

As with any pilgrimage, it’s not meant to be easy.

It’s not meant to be a vacation.

It’s a journey with a spiritual purpose. 

The experience taught me two valuable lessons which I’ll share below. 

Lesson One: Obedience

Even though God called me to Lourdes, I didn’t have to listen.

It was an invitation; and since I have free will, I could have said no.

There was also the possibility of not receiving the healing I desired and thinking the trip was not worth the effort if that occurred.

Thankfully, I didn’t make excuses!

Thankfully, I didn’t deny God’s invitation!

I tried to listen and obey His will every step of the way.

I tried to follow Mary’s words to the servants during the Wedding at Cana,

“Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5)

We’re each called to follow God’s will, even if what we’re being called to do doesn’t seem possible or practical.

By saying yes to God’s call, I was granted blessings: I was able to travel to Lourdes, participate in the pilgrimage, return home safely, and share my experience with others.

If I was not obedient, I would have missed out on so much!

If God is calling us to something, there’s a reason for it; and it’s for our own good to be obedient and say yes.

Lesson Two: Trust

This was something I was asked to do before and during the pilgrimage.

And it’s something I’m still being asked to do!

There was no way I could do the pilgrimage on my own, and I knew this from the start.

In prayer and conversation I kept saying that the trip was God’s, not mine. 

Even though I wanted to go to Lourdes, there were so many things that needed to be figured out. 

At the time, it felt overwhelming.

God was, and still is, asking me to stop trying to rely on my own abilities and rely on Him. 

There’s no way I could have done any of it on my own, but I wasn’t expected to!

God was, and always is, in control. 

He wanted to lead me to Lourdes and take care of me on the entire journey. 

He wanted to help me and provide for my every need.

In order for Him to do that, I had to let Him. 

I had to give up the desire to control and the false notion that I had to figure everything out. 

I had to allow Him to be God, and allow myself to be His beloved daughter.

When we were preparing to read the prayer intentions, we witnessed a mother sparrow feeding her young.

Click here for that post

We were reminded of Jesus’ words,

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26)

Some of us experience moments of anxiety and fear, but we must remind ourselves that we have a faithful God who doesn’t want us to worry.

God promises to take care of our every need. He desires to do this. 

He can be trusted because He has always kept, and will always keep, His promises.

The Point

I’m sharing these lessons with you because of their value. 

They aren’t only valuable for me. They are valuable for each one of us.

I was shown these lessons through my experience in Lourdes, but I wasn’t meant to leave them there. 

I was meant to carry them back home and apply them to my everyday life.

We’re all a work in progress and will continue to learn lessons along the way.

Let’s ask God to help us grow in holiness and obey and trust Him more each day.

“Unless you are willing to do the ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous. When you have God, you don’t have to know everything about it; you just do it.” ~ Mother Angelica

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+ To learn more about the pilgrimage, click the LOURDES SERIES tag below