Today I was reading Nancy Hanna testimony in the book “40-years in America” and an idea came to me. My life in the Unification Movement did not follow the normal “Formula course” taught by our True Parents. I was in a business mission from day 1 of moving into the center in Paris and stay in a business mission until April 15, 2009, except for 9 months in 1974.
We rarely fasted, rarely did conditions that would impair our ability to work long hours for the business at hand. We work hard, but we were well fed, well cared for in many ways.
I have many times compared my life as a Unificationist to many others who went a quite different course and I wondered why mine was different.
I have always been healthy, but I was a tiny child. My mother was a mid-wife and took care of me and my sister very well. I think my physical body was more fragile than possibly the norm, especially when I was very young. I remember receiving special medical treatment because I was so small for no specific reason.
I think God chose my mission very well. If I had followed the formula course, I may not have survived it. God knew my abilities, my strength of character, and he gave me a job, that I could do. Working hard, well fed, medical care anytime I needed. I never thought like that before, but I think that might be the reason for my life in our movement.
Because of the business mission, I attended only a couple of Divine Principle workshop and that was it. My spiritual life was not nourished as much as some other members. I remember very well, how eager we all were when visited by an elder and spoken to about God, True Parents, and the Divine Principle. But that was so rare.
God knew I could handle that. My commitment to God was strong enough to handle the fasting of spiritual food. That is why I got the job I did as a Unificationist. At least that is one explanation.
Special Note: In April of 2009 I had cancer and required a lot of treatments. I could not work anymore and earned a living. That is when I decided that I was done with business missions. No more! I stop reading books for entertainment only. Every book I read from then on to today are connected to feed my spiritual life for the purpose of guiding humankind to God and True Parents. It is during that time, summer 2009 that the Online Matching System (OMS) was born. The following year, I connected with the Blessing Family Ministry (BFM) and have been working with them since.
With Love and gratitude, always,
Anne-Marie
June 7, 2020
I am very pleased t9 read Ann-Marie’s reflections from her life with her husband in Paris and her years following cancer in 2009.
ReplyDeleteI have been grateful for her patience in the OMS process. Even though this OMS has not brought me a husband, I believe I am
destined to welcome a gentleman into my faith and my heart.
Best wishes to Ann-Marie Mylar.
Sharon Hendrie Crooke. 27 years in Indianapolis Family Church
Thank you for sharing this (and it was good to see you this evening on the Concerned People's meeting).
ReplyDeleteI did the 'formula course' and I'm grateful for it, but I think at times I might have had some false pride because of this.
What I came to realise (common sense really) is that it's not what you did that makes you a good person, but it's who you have become, through all the experiences God gave us along the way.
Still a long way to go...
😀
Thank you Sharon and Tom for reading and sharing your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteWith gratitude,
Anne-Marie