PIC ME (part 3)

Today is the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker.  Adam and I got married at a church named St. Joseph.  I had also finished a novena praying for my future spouse to St. Joseph in the months before meeting Adam.  My childhood church was St. Joseph and my favorite grade in elementary school and favorite teacher (Ms. Bednar in 5th grade) were experienced in that same building. 

So, today seems like a good day to share with you the "C" from the PIC ME acronym I shared during the Dating to Marriage talk that I helped with back in February.

Let's review though...."P" was to pray for your future spouse and the three part prayer.

"I" was to be more intentional...with your time...dating....and to be selective with whom you choose to invest in or spend your time with while discerning marriage so as to not waste anyone's time.

So what is the "C"???











When I spoke to the room of college students with some other wives of the community, I said to center yourself on Christ.  I spoke of how I focused on my relationship with Christ while praying for my future spouse.  I took that time of being single to attend Young Adult events, to go on retreats, to form faith-based friendships, to grown and learn through talks I would hear at Theology on Tap events, and to get back to going to Adoration (something I had done occasionally as a child but hadn't delved into as an adult).  I even became a cheerleading coach at a Catholic high school which, now, as I look back, I can see it helped to lead me in the direction of leaving public school teaching to go teach at a Catholic school.

Instead of pursuing a guy or dating someone I knew was not really long term material, I instead focused on growing in my relationship with God and in learning more and more about my faith through listening to podcasts, Lighthouse CDs, reading books, and going to Catholic conferences and talks.  It helped being in a thriving young adult community and having a wonderful spiritual director through my parish priest at the time.

Those who know Adam's and my story (and how we met) probably thought the "C" stood for something else....!?

However, I think for anything else to occur...you must first focus on God and the rest will flow from there!  He's the river from which all blessings flow!  This song has been on my mind lately and it seems appropriate to share it again here as I know I've shared it through this blog in the past. 

Let go of another "C" word - - control - -  and allow being centered on Christ to take over all parts of your life.  He will provide the graces and peace you need.  St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us!