Testimony 25
Jo is a friend from my prayer group and she is suffering from a long term illness. She is always in my prayers. One day I was praying the rosary for her when an imagery of a cruise on a sea appeared. I did not understand what that meant, other than maybe Jo likes to go on a cruise. I shared that with her and she was also not sure of the meaning, and she asked me to ask the Lord to reveal deeper. The Lord didn’t immediately explain the interpretation.
In the next prayer session, we had a group praying over for Jo. With Jo in the centre, we gathered around her in a circle and laid hands on her. Within moments, I felt a force grabbing my both forearms; the grasp was so firm I thought somebody was gripping me but when I opened my eyes, there was nobody. Even with my eyes sweeping for the source, I could still feel the seize around the forearms. The strength was solid but light; I didn’t feel shackle, in fact, I sensed that the touch was appealing not to let go. I shared this rare episode with Jo. This was my first and only experience, perhaps it was because I seldom lay hands on others.
A few weeks past, I was in the adoration room praying for Jo. As usual, I asked God whether there is anything to tell me about Jo. I waited patiently for about twenty minutes; He asked me to look into the host of the blessed sacrament, and so I closed my eyes and focused.At first I saw a staff, and next Jesus appeared followed by Mother Mary. She appeared to be holding something and with outstretched arms; she looked upward and lifted it into heaven. It looked like a jar, and I asked what was being raised and Mary answered it's our prayers. As our prayers reached the sky, a flashing white light in the form of a dove appeared and enveloped the urn. A man with a bright beam of light focused on him descended. He had brown eyes and hair, dressed in red and white robe. He held his face close to mine and looked at me in the eyes.
It was about time for rosary before mass and I moved on to the main church. Serenity and calmness encircled as I entered the church. Within this peace, there was a message that flowed: the final destination of a cruise is never the sea; cruise on a sea means temporary. I could have no way figured out the significance of the imagery, my lesson learnt was at no time to interpret the imagery on my own. God in His own time would show me the way.
A few months down the road, on the first Sunday of Lent, the four jars on the altar caught my sight. They instantly reminded me of the one that Mary was carrying in the vision. However, at that point of time I didn’t know they were called tear jars, and I kept wondering what they could be. God knows what is on my mind; the priest announced at the beginning of the mass that those four tear jars on the altar were in reference to Psalm 56:8. David prayed to God, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected my tears in your bottle. you have recorded each one in your book.” Indeed God has put our tears into a jar just like what David has petitioned. Today I am sure Mary is keeping a tear jar in her hands; holding our sorrows close to her, interceding for us and lifting our tearful prayers to God.