What I am about to write is so that I never doubt or forget what happened to me on the night that changed mt life.
This occurred on January 16, 2024:
It was the day after MLK day. I had worked the previous night until 6 am. I had to wake up early so that I could do an interview with the USFS. The interview didn't go great. It had been a busy time recently with the weather and work. It had been a tough holiday at times as well, with my mom getting sick, my sister struggling with a possibly life-changing condition, and all of us finding out we had COVID again (the first time we got it was earlier in the year on our Disneyland vacation) and not being able to see out family for Christmas. I had a midnight shift that night, the late one which was even harder on the body for me.
I decided to bring two cds with me for the ride to work. I didn't have any in the car since Christmas - partially because my cd player kept breaking. I picked my Richard Shindell cd and my Tom Rush Circle Game cd. I wanted to listen to the Shindell cd - there was a song called Mary Magdalene I really liked which I usually listened to during Lent. I figured I'd listen to the cd anyway even though it wasn't quite Lent yet.
I left for work about 1130 pm and listened to the Shindell cd starting at the beginning. Mary Magdalene came on #3. While listening, I thought of what Fr. Frank would think of the song. This was not a new thing for me. i knew I would never mention it to him. But still I thought it. Then I envisioned myself walking into Church, much like on the day when me and the kids went because my wife was practicing with the choir. Fr. Frank asked me how are you when walked into the Church, and I replied: "I'm tired."
I instantly felt God inside me saying: "I am with you." It wasn't words or a voice, but a feeling that conveyed those words. It is impossible to fully describe this feeling - but I got very emotional in the car with tears welling up in my eyes on the verge of all-out crying. I didn't burst out crying as I didn't want super red eyes at work, but tears kept coming.
What happened to me was unmistakable. I didn't ask for it nor had I ever thought of something like that. It just happened. My life was changed from that point on and I knew it.