SURRENDER

I was first introduced to the Novena of Surrender to the Will of God back in 2017. When it was introduced to me it was also made known that I should “be ready to watch God move.” The Novena (or rather the true act of surrender) is powerful. God desires our surrender. God desires our obedience.

And God did move in my life. I saw Him ‘work things out’ in my life that I couldn’t figure out how to ‘work out’ in my own head. Particularly, my then-boyfriend (now husband) and I were living in different states wondering how the logistics of our circumstances would ever work out for us to actually live in the same city so we could date without being long distance (we met while living 1500 miles away from one another). We said the Novena of Surrender together and God was certainly moving. Equally or maybe even more importantly He was teaching me how to surrender my plans so as to prepare my heart to be in agreement with His. After the Novena, God made clear that He was asking both of us to move, and move we did. That season of life gave us the opportunity to live and date in the same city (rather, small town), which eventually led to our engagement and marriage. I often wonder how things might have played out had neither of us been willing to surrender to the will of God, to take a back seat and watch Him work things out for us, although differently than either of us might have imagined.

Ever since I prayed that first Novena with my now-husband, that word surrender just keeps on resurfacing. In this last year, it’s been resurfacing A LOT. In January I was really feeling the tug to pull out Father Dolindo Ruotolo’s Novena of Surrender once again, and when I did I connected in a whole new way with the Novena. As I prayed it, I picked up on words and meanings that didn’t really hit so strongly in previous times praying the novena. Isn’t that just like God? He gives us what we need, when we need it. He also never tires of taking us somewhere new, somewhere a little deeper each time we follow His promptings and each time we draw closer to Him.

This time when I prayed the novena, I felt I should write a short reflection for each day’s prayer and share it here. So I prayed through the Novena again, and wrote out reflections with you in mind.

NOW I’d like to invite you to pray this Novena with me. I’ve created a free printout to make it easy for you! The first page gives a little backstory on Father Dolindo Ruotolo and his devotion to God’s will for his life through surrender. I’ve included a separate page for each of the nine days of the Novena. On each page you will find the novena prayer for the day plus the short reflection I’ve written for that day. I’ve left some blank space on the bottom of each page so you can jot down notes or write what the Lord is speaking to you.

Let’s pray it together! Get the Novena + Reflections here.

*I’ll be sharing the prayers for each day of the novena on my Facebook + Instagram accounts. Join me there for discussion and interaction! Links below.

I also find it quite fitting that this prayer of surrender that has impacted me so much is also the very thing I am launching my online shop with! That’s right, I did a little thing and opened an Etsy Shop. Whaaattt?!?! It’s been a loooong time coming and I’m stoked it’s finally here, albeit in it’s infancy! Shop the new SURRENDER prints (available as a digital download) in my Etsy Shop.

I’d love to hear what you think about the new shop and your own journey with SURRENDER! Will you join me in saying the Novena of Surrender to the Will of God?

Blessings,
Jackie