It’s easy to speed through your day and not even realize all the amazing graces God gives us. Here are some ways our students have seen God working in their lives.

One way in particular is feeling the comfort of God in the midst of stress about the future. The future is scary; we don’t know what it will look like or what we will be doing with our lives. Instead of stressing further, some St. Dominic students prayed about what God wants them to do. God, as always, answered their prayers.

“I was stressing about college and I decided I should probably pray about where God wants me to go instead of trying to figure it out on my own; so I did just that. The next day, my friend who goes to one of the colleges I was debating texted me and asked me how I was doing. I told her how I was stressing, but I put my stress into God’s hands the night before. She told me she was praying in Mass that morning and a thought came to her to text me after she got out. It just showed me when I put my struggles into God’s hands, He will always provide the answers,” said senior Ella Kasubke.

“Over the summer I went on a service retreat at my parish called Christpower. One of the sites I went to was Sarah Community, a nursing home for retired sisters and nuns. I had an opportunity to talk to some of the sisters during their lunch period, and it was the best part of my day. They talked about their discernment to the sisterhood and gave me lots of advice about my own discernment. I could really feel God’s presence in the three sisters and our conversation; they helped me get a much better idea of what God is calling me to do,” said sophomore Christian Hall.

In addition to our worries about the future, St. Dominic students have also felt God work in their lives while dealing with difficult situations. Through the power of prayer, they were able to see the goodness God brought forth from suffering.

“My grandpa was always a huge fan of trains—whenever I would go over to his house, he was usually watching some documentary on TV about trains. In his basement, he even built a huge electric train track which he always allowed his grandchildren to operate. He passed away when I was in third grade. On the day of his funeral, my family, my grandma and all my other cousins pulled up to the church at the same time. Right as we were all getting out of our cars, a train went by on the railroad tracks behind us and blew its whistle. Some may just call it a coincidence, but the timing of the train was unbelievable. My family and I just kind of looked at each other. We all knew it was a sign from God and it was like we were given the reassurance that my grandpa was okay and in a better place. While we had all been weepy and filled with tears all morning, seeing and hearing the train was like the calmness and peace we really needed to make it through the funeral. What was even more convincing was that after the funeral mass, one of the church ushers told my family the train was two hours earlier than it’s usual schedule,” said senior Shelby Orf.

“Before this retreat, my parents told me that they were getting a divorce and it was really hard for a lot of different reasons. But when I was praying in adoration, my friend, Olivia, prayed over me and she was talking about how I need reinforcement to show that God was in my life. Right after she said that, Kyle, the musician, said over the mic that anyone that is having issues with their families splitting is okay because God is still looking out for you and that everything will be okay. And ever since then, my parents and I have a much better relationship. God gave me exactly what I needed,” said senior Kelsey Cooper.

“One night my family had to go to the basement because of the tornado sirens. We were watching on the radar as the storm got closer and closer. I suggested we pray the Rosary, so we did. As we prayed, the storm on the radar parted and went around our neighborhood. Our house was safe because of Mary’s intercession,” said freshman Mary Ellen Raymo.

“During the St. Joseph Christpower retreat, everyone has the opportunity to go evangelizing around the neighborhoods. At one particular house, my partner and I walked up to a house and a lady answered, but she looked like she had just been crying. Later in the conversation, she had mentioned that she was Catholic and actually belonged to the same parish. We asked her if she needed any prayers, so she told us that her mother was battling cancer and was near death. After hearing this, we asked if we could pray with her. She immediately opened up her hand and we joined. She told us how thankful she was that we came when we did. She was lost and confused and really needed to feel God’s loving arms. This was an amazing experience for me because it showed me how strong prayer is and the effect it has on everyone. God works in mysterious, yet beautiful ways,” said senior Andrea Ducharme.

God touches our lives in so many more ways than we may initially think. He’s there with us in every small moment, sending us the exact graces we need each and every day.

“I feel God’s presence when I run in cross country and track meets. There are times when I want to give up. In these times, I feel God pushing me and telling me to keep going. He makes me stronger with every stride,” said senior Justin Haberberger.

“I started trying to go to daily mass as much as I can a couple months ago. At first it was hard waking up so early, but as I continued to go more and more, it really gave me a whole new attitude about my day. I was always happier and more positive after getting to start my day with Jesus. It’s such a huge blessing I never even realized I could have,” said sophomore Colleen Cooper.

“So it was my birthday and I wasn’t having the greatest day. I went to go get lunch and I was going to put a tomato on my sandwich, but it cost too much, so I didn’t get the tomato. But then, when I sat down, my friend next to me, without even knowing my tomato problem, said he hated tomatoes and had some on his sandwich, then he asked me if I wanted them. It was just a cool moment where I was like ‘Hey God, thanks,’” said junior Nick Bone.

It is so clear God works in the most wondrous ways, and we are so blessed to be able to acknowledge and share the beautiful moments in our community. As we dive deeper into the school year, try to take the time to realize and thank God for the millions of blessings He pours into our lives.