“Focus on the moment and trust in God’s love.”
After years of journeying through repeated sufferings, from car accident injuries to four recurrences of a brain tumor, Deacon Gene Neral’s life changed even more deeply when God showed him the importance of the phrase above. They are now Deacon's words to live by, the encouragement he offers to everyone he encounters, and the central message of the book he authored with his story.
Today, we’re sharing some of Deacon Gene’s valuable advice for living a life that's "in focus" amid times of suffering. Maybe your medical situation is so complex that you cannot see light at the end of the tunnel; maybe you’re experiencing the calm before a growing storm or chaos post-diagnosis; or maybe you’re helping someone dear to you carry the cross of suffering. No matter what pain you are experiencing now or what you have been through before, these words of hope and encouragement are for you.
1. Trust: Saying It Is One Thing, Living It Is Another.
“Saying, ‘I put my trust in God,’ or, ‘In God we trust,’ are just expressions, but to TRUST God with everything I am and everything I have is an act of faith and of one’s will.” – Deacon Gene Neral, Focus on the Moment and Trust in God's Love
Times of difficulty often show us the wide difference between saying that we trust in God and actually trusting Him. Suffering reminds us how seldom we can take credit for anything in our lives: everything we have comes from God, and He is the one in control. Deacon Gene reminds us that we have nothing to lose, only everything to gain, by trusting in God’s love.
2. Throughout Our Lives, God Works With Us, Very Gently.
Deacon Gene discovered this truth in his own experiences of illness and recovery. Four occasions of the same brain tumor left him asking God why he had to keep undergoing this suffering.
I can remember lying in my hospital bed at Hershey Medical Center, recuperating from my third brain tumor operation in ten years and asking God why I had to keep going through this. Actually, I got a response that I didn’t expect.
In my heart, I heard Him ask me, “Do I have your attention yet?”
And yet Deacon's story underscores that even when God calls us through challenges, he does it with patience and gentleness.
“God is so great that He can transform me without destroying me. He is able to give me wisdom without overpowering me, and He is able to transfigure me into the image of His Son while allowing me to maintain my individuality and use the unique talents and abilities He has given me.
(Photo courtesy of Deacon Gene Neral.)
3. Many Little Things Are Part Of Our Lives Because God Loves Us.
In his book, Deacon Gene shares about a realization he received while on a retreat:
Throughout the sixty or so acres of trees on the hermitage grounds, there were a number of paths. I began to walk down one of them, noticing the different sizes and shapes of those many trees. Then a still, small voice in my heart said, “They are here because I love you.” A little further along, a squirrel crossed my path, and that voice spoke again: “It’s here because I love you.” In a couple of minutes, a small herd of deer, about six or seven of them, crossed my path, and in my heart, I heard, “They’re here because I love you.” Eventually, I arrived at the entrance of the hermitage where there is a twenty-foot-high wooden cross that greets all those who enter. When I looked up at it, that voice in my heart said, “It’s here because I love you.”
Furthermore, God puts us on earth as a gift to other people. Deacon Gene also felt the Lord whispering this to him when he encountered others:
“You’re here because I love them.”
This truth changes how we view the world, other people, and the circumstances of our lives. It may even reveal new surprises communicating how God loves us!
4. Focusing On The Present Moment Leads Us Closer To God
“God only gives us one moment at a time because He knows that’s all we can handle. This moment is a gift of God’s merciful love, and how we handle His gift, as He gives it to us, can change our lives.”
God has no beginning and no end; as Deacon Gene puts it, he “is eternally NOW!” We only have the time that God gives us, and the present moment is “the only time that we can do anything about.” This means that when we live in the present moment, we come closer to God.
5. Jesus Teaches Us How To Be Saints Here and Now
The Gospels are also filled with the theme of living in the here and now. When he healed and forgave, Jesus worked in the present moment. He taught his disciples to love and be merciful, challenging them to begin this spiritual change immediately, not when they feel like it.
We cannot wait for a moment free of suffering and struggle as the best time to grow in patience, fortitude, gentleness, faith, and love. We must start to become saints in the midst of everything.
“God only gives us one moment at a time because He knows that’s all we can handle. This moment is a gift of God’s merciful love, and how we handle His gift, as He gives it to us, can change our lives.”
6. Distractions Don’t Disqualify Us: God Can Work Through Them.
So, you pray for the grace of the moment and do your best to live it. What about when the duties of life get in the way? Or when your thoughts dart in all directions during prayer? Deacon Gene reminds that these discouragements are not hopeless obstacles to holiness.
Fixating on distractions leads to discouragement. In his book, Deacon Gene draws on St. Teresa of Avila’s advice: to recognize the distractions without focusing on them, then return to the present moment in prayer. When we are interrupted in conversation with someone, the most natural and gracious thing to do is to turn our attention back to the person with whom we are speaking once the interruption passes. We should do the same in prayer.
7. The Heart of Prayer is Just Being Present With Jesus.
“Just put yourself in the arms of Jesus and His Blessed Mother and ask them to take over.”
Too often we complicate prayer, forgetting the one simple thing at the heart of it: being in the presence of the most important Person. In his book, Deacon Gene shares his experience of learning different way of praying: to simply sit in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for fifteen to twenty minutes, just being present.
In the presence of the Eucharist, we have the Lord’s particular attention. It may seem more productive by shuffling through different prayers and feel like just being in front of the Lord does not get us anywhere. Yet Deacon Gene realized that prayer does not center around the feeling we get from it but the act of fixing our eyes on Jesus and Mary so they can show us the way to holiness.
Deacon Gene Neral’s book sharing his impactful story is available in print on Amazon or as an audiobook through Spotify or Audible. Find out more about him via his website, lifeinfocus.net.
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