Aug 11, 2021
Carlow Trip Monday 11th April 1998 (aged 17)
On Monday, I left Mary, Noel and Rosemarie. We had just finished praying about the situation in Cyprus with the Kuwait airline. I went into the house and sat in prayer. I then had a strange feeling of calling that God wanted me to go somewhere. I actually had the weird idea it was Cyprus.
To test if this was what he wanted I asked for a sign in the morning. In the morning, there was no sign. I accepted God’s will.
Then at about one o’clock in the bath, I got this calling again however this time it was clear in my head the place was the South of Ireland particularly Carlow. Why Carlow? Well, I knew a few people there. So I withdrew some money, exchanged a few of it for punts and left on the 3 30 pm Dublin bound train.
Well, I was sitting on the train wondering where would I go. I had not rung anyone but had a few addresses. I mean I knew these people from the Isle of Man but hadn’t seen them since and I had only written the odd letter to one of them. How would they react?
As I sat, I began to read my Bible putting my faith in God and that comforted me.
I turned up James 5,
“If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a generous supply of wisdom to all who ask him, he will not resent it. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to tell you for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the sea.”
So I arrived in Connelly Station transferred to Euston Station and bound myself to Carlow 50 miles away. Where would I go when I got there? The Lord will provide. Then I turned my head and out of everybody that goes through this station, I see a lad that was on holiday for a week in the Isle of Man. After some confusion, we greeted each other and of course, he was going to Carlow he lived there.
I knew he knew the ones I knew and he welcomed me to his home.
I stayed in Carlow a few days visiting friends and then returned home.
NB: The end is a bit of an anti-climax. What happened in Carlow in those few days? I think this illustrates that for me often the adventure is in the journey.
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