Midnight Streams - To Be a Saint

By Michael J Hoogasian

Everything happens for a reason... life is great when things are all going well. What happens when everything we hold dear falls into ruin? How should we respond? In response to his "test of faith in a trial by fire," Michael shares his insights on how God carried him through the worst and continues to be his rock. So whatever it is you may be going through, find solace in the streams of this book that flow serenely through this most encouraging truth: God loves you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329545205

Book preview

Midnight Streams - To Be a Saint

Midnight Streams – To Be A Saint

Dedication

I continue to give thanks and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ for his sacrifice and grace that have allowed me to persevere through a difficult time of loss and transformation. Coincidentally, I dedicate these thoughts and ideas to all my family, whose immense love and support will not be forgotten.

Printed by Lulu.com 2011

ISBN: 978-1-329-54520-5

Copyright by Michael J. Hoogasian 2010, 2011, 2015

Available at: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/sharkangel

A Sharkangel Book

*The SHARKANGEL symbol combines the author’s reverent connection to St. Michael the Archangel, guardian of Christ’s faithful, and his childlike fascination with great white sharks.*

Special Acknowledgement:

I thank God for my incredibly generous, blessed, and gifted Grandma. She gave me her own written revelations to use as I deem fit. The insight within her manuscript is priceless. I have prayed that the messages within have been faithfully revealed to those to whom He wills. Some of the themes, ideas, and poems of Midnight Streams: To Be a Saint were inspired by her moving words and certain lines have been incorporated into these pages.

Regarding Midnight Streams

Yet the Lord will command his loving kindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.  (Psalms 42:8 KJV¹)

No doubt, we have all been up late at night, past a normal bedtime hour when deep thoughts and ideas are running rampant.  During these restless times, our speech tends to flow freely in both familiar and strange company.  We become vulnerable to sharing secrets, perceptions, and experiences that under different, more natural circumstances would be locked away in our mind’s vault.  Honesty seems so easy, while trust and confidence a guarantee.  Alone, it is within these moments, during these so called ungodly hours, where many life-altering decisions and events may occur.  Inspiration stimulates its greatest visions, provoking the genius within to have such amazing feelings of insight and creativity. 

Midnight Streams is a phrase I use to capture the essence of the cognitive events that transpire during such occasions.  Thoughts, though often sporadic, flow in streams of consciousness concerning all aspects of life.  Frequently influenced by a particular day’s occurrences, ideas regarding daily and life-long choices, social interactions, senses of duty and purpose, the search for meaning in an otherwise meaningless existence all generate an uneasy mind not settled yet for sleep.  Amidst such confusion, organization is necessary to quiet many unanswerable questions and give peace to a weary head.  Moreover, it is at these times, I feel, prayer is most useful and effective when applied with contemplation and patience.  Writing becomes a highly beneficial tool in these situations, providing sense to sometimes overwhelming conceptions. 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:1-3 NAB²)

I wrote the preceding preface for my first book Midnight Streams – Spirited Discovery of Flowing Insight³ back in 2003 to describe the overall nature of its ideas. It was an extension of the poem that bears the title of these books I have been called to write.

My own ‘midnight streams’ flowed rather smoothly for a handful of years after writing that manuscript. My restless thoughts and prayers were abundantly answered with direction in the acquisition of my newly found career as a coach, teacher, and devoted man. I was on a good path, a ‘right’ path…

Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to you. (1 Peter 4:12 NAB)

…However, complacency left me on a plateau where I patiently, yet foolishly, awaited an expected transition. Startling circumstances brought about by complicated choices turned my world upside down. I was suddenly confronted with an enormous test of faith instead of the joy I had anticipated. It seemed I was being called to something different from my expectations and personal plans. At the beginning of my great sadness, by some mysterious intuition I found myself suddenly face to face with the following troublesome, yet comforting, declarative message: "care not that you have been rejected. I caused it. I have other plans for you." An inner peace told me to trust the puzzling sentiments and to keep praying. And so, through the aftermath of the most difficult time in my life, streams surged through tormenting memories, broken promises, destroyed dreams, baffling contradictions, and betrayed emotions from within and without.

Among them all, Vengeance, Wrath, Despair, Doubt, Disappointment, and Solitude dared to seize my mind and my very soul. Though in spite of their brutal attacks, the quiet reassurance of God’s presence whispered in my heart at the darkest times: I am closer than close, nearer than near... Being human caused occasional grief and emotional setbacks, but by His eternal grace, the following streams share revelations from deep within that will illustrate the necessity of perseverance along our righteous paths. Coupled with that, the love of God and for God is paramount and becomes life’s ultimate motivation. Truly, faith allows us to accept it when He tells us, …My grace is sufficient for you… (2 Corinthians 12:9). So, as you struggle with your tests, whatever they may be, I write now that you may learn what you need to learn by His grace from these words. May God bless you in all your good endeavors for the Glory of His Holy Name; and in the Holy Name of Jesus, I pray for you, my reader. Amen.

Midnight Streams

Underneath a bright moonbeam

Minds swept away by a midnight stream.

Such calm waters under the sun

Storm after the day is done.

Flowing by all that you want,

Regretful choices torment and taunt.

Foggy memories along the shore

Enshroud lost loves you once adored.

Tossed and turned from side to side

Unleashed in your mind, no place to hide.

As rapids rage, then begin to dive

Within the mists continue to strive

And beneath cascades of midnight streams

Find, at last, your lifelong dreams.

To Be a Saint…

Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones… (Ephesians 1:15-18 NAB)

My first book, Midnight Streams – Spirited Discovery of Flowing Insight, discussed many ideas that pertained to walking a path in life that is uniquely designed for someone to follow according to his/her God-given talents. Poems and personal discourses elaborated on concepts such as uncertainty, faith, free will, consequences, and the appreciation of various blessings. Similarly, this book contains several poems that illuminate various qualities of saints and circumstances that may face them. Likewise, I have inserted some personal thoughts on the nature and significance of other relevant