Fountain of Faith

As she contemplated a frozen-over fountain, Laura Nelson learned an important lesson about letting God lead.

Have you ever noticed how beautiful ice can be? Icicles that form along rooflines and the complex crystals you can see as ponds and puddles freeze are truly mesmerizing. Ice is both strong and fragile at the same time. It reflects light and brightens the world at a time of year when darkness dominates.

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On the first night of a recent silent retreat, I sat in the dining hall looking out of the window at a frozen fountain as I tried to adjust to the silence. I noticed how beautiful the fountain was in its frozen form and I enjoyed pondering how God made something so beautiful out of the harsh weather conditions. I wondered, “Is that the way You work within me, Lord? Using the harsh realities of life to make something more beautiful?”

As the temperatures rose throughout the retreat, I watched the icy fountain slowly transform from an ice sculpture back to active, living waters again. It was interesting to see which patches of ice melted first and how the water continued to flow even inside shells of ice. By the end of the retreat, the fountain was fully defrosted and no sign of ice was left.

I thought back to the question I posed to God on the first night of the retreat: “Is that the way You work within me, Lord?” I decided that the answer to that question was “No.” Don’t get me wrong. God definitely takes the hard things in my life and makes good and beautiful things come out of them. But His work doesn’t melt away like the ice in the fountain. No. What God does in my soul remains.

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When I invite God into my life and collaborate with Him to increase in holiness, the change may be slow but it’s beautiful and lasting. #CatholicMom

Then I realized something about that fountain. It reminded me of what happens when I try to do things on my own without God’s help. By sheer force of nature (or my own will), I can create something but more often than not, it’s cold and hard and doesn’t remain when the gentle warmth of God’s love and light shine on it.

But when I invite God into my life and collaborate with Him to increase in holiness, the change may be slow but it’s beautiful and lasting. It doesn’t melt away in the light of day.

The image of that frozen fountain has stayed with me since the retreat. It’s a reminder to me that God is at work in my life to make beautiful creations. And if I work alongside Him, those changes will remain.

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