By Mark Main
Store Manager at St. Louise Gift & Thrift in Lincoln,
Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska
One of the biggest lies in modern society is that a person is solely in charge of his or her own destiny. I once believed that statement.
Don’t get me wrong, I became very successful and achieved many of my goals. If someone told me that I couldn’t do something, I did everything I could to prove those people wrong. If I set my mind to it, I could achieve it. The problem was I didn’t realize that God was helping me accomplish these goals all along.
Since meeting my wife 36 years ago, I have been going to church every Sunday. I wasn’t raised Catholic, but I joined the Church a few years after my wife and I had our first two children. Sure, I listened to the homilies every week. I even started going to daily Mass. I joined the Knights of Columbus and was an active member. Even before converting, I always believed in prayer.
When I was 6 years old, my father had a major heart attack. I remember asking God that my dad be with me for a very long time (that prayer was answered; he would end up living another 40 years). In the past year, I started writing down all the prayers that God has answered for me. It is amazing the amount of prayers that are on that list!
However, no matter how successful I was during that time of my life, my world had spun out of control. I had a mental breakdown, became an alcoholic, and would end up losing my job because of my alcoholism. It wasn’t until I hit rock bottom that I finally realized that all I needed to do was to put Jesus in charge of my life. As soon as I put Jesus in charge, along with the help of our Holy Mother Mary, things started to change almost immediately.
In June 2016, I found a job at St. Louise Gift & Thrift with Catholic Social Services where I no longer work for “the man” but work for Jesus Christ. The pay wasn’t as much, but I also work reasonable hours. I became more involved again with the Knights and spent four years as the Faith/Church Director for the State Team.
I attend daily Mass as much as I am able and try to pray three rosaries a day. The first rosary is in the morning to start the day and thank God for what He did for me yesterday and to help me with today. The second rosary is at home during lunch when I thank God for everything that He has done for me this day and to help me with any possible problems in the afternoon.
The last rosary is before bed when I thank Him for all the prayers He has answered for me and my family. Prayer is something that I have been able to bring into the workplace at St. Louise Gift & Thrift.
When we pray together each morning at St. Louise Gift & Thrift, we always start with the “Thank You Jesus” list of all the prayers He has answered. Then we read our list of daily intentions, adding a few new ones each day. Many of the prayers that we pray are for our staff, volunteers, customers, clients and donors, and for all of their intentions. If you ever stop by to volunteer or donate items and have a prayer intention or request, please share it with me or one of our staff and we will add it to our list. One of the best parts of my workday is praying with my team for each and every one of you.
This is all because the power of prayer in my life is something that has deeply strengthened my faith. My life is not perfect. I still have problems, sadness, and stress, but I am able to seek help from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I try daily to make my decisions with the help of the Trinity. I enjoy life more now than ever because Jesus is by my side, every step of the way. If He isn’t with you in the same way, just ask Him. He is there watching every move you make, just invite Him in.
