The fact of God's help from Veronica 23.11.2024

Hello, everyone! I previously shared a testimony about prayers to Venerable Sergius of Radonezh for successfully passing my Finnish language exam. I have been praying with many Akathists for about four years now, and my mother has also joined the communal prayer, which itself was a miracle. I wouldn’t say I always pray properly—often, I just read—but sometimes, I manage to pray with deep focus. At times, it seems like nothing is changing, but later, I notice how much actually is changing. Sometimes, I think that due to my distracted prayer, everything happens slowly. The first Akathist I ever read was to my Guardian Angel. At first, I felt like nothing was happening, but then I realized I had stopped wearing black clothing. I had read in another woman's testimony about this same phenomenon. Now, I feel drawn to wearing more colorful clothes—especially blue, white, and soft pink. I always tried to look feminine and elegant, but now, that desire has grown even stronger. I’ve also developed a love for cooking and even started knitting. I moved from Saint Petersburg to Finland for my master’s studies and am now learning to navigate different challenges and become more organized. Sometimes, I understand why I didn’t get married earlier—I simply wasn’t ready. I hadn’t yet matured for family life, but now I’m working on growing up. I am learning to love and take an interest in others. I never thought of myself as a bad person, but I often focused too much on myself and unintentionally kept people out of my life. I pray to Saint Nicholas and always feel his help. My last name is also Nikolaeva, and in Tampere, where I now live, there is a church in the city center dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevsky and Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas always helps me with work. I teach languages, and even in difficult times, work opportunities always appear at just the right moment, and all problems get resolved. Yesterday, on Thursday, I received my new residence permit. My heart felt at peace. My father underwent surgery at St. Luke’s Hospital on the feast day of St. Luke of Crimea. He was unsure if he had ever been baptized, so he was baptized again and now regularly goes to Confession and Communion. My mother also goes to Confession and Communion. Sometimes, I feel discouraged or even fall into despair, even though I always considered myself an optimistic person. I long for personal happiness as well. I started praying the Akathist to my Guardian Angel on February 26, and just a month later, I started a pleasant conversation with a guy I liked. He had just gone through a breakup, as his relationship had become complicated. Later, I realized that his birthday was January 26—exactly a month before I began praying. Our relationship was interesting—he was Finnish. We eventually broke up, and it was incredibly painful. I prayed with all my heart for us to stay together because I felt deep inside that I wanted to be with him. On every Orthodox holiday, our communication would somehow naturally smooth out, but in the end, we stopped talking completely. We parted badly, and it was a shock for me. To this day, it remains a bit of a mystery. I continue reading Akathists regularly. Now, I am in a relationship with another young man, but I’m still unsure of how it will develop. Temptations come often, and sometimes, it’s really hard—I feel like I have no strength left—but I keep moving forward, believing that everything will be okay. Through prayer with Akathists, life changes, and miracles happen. Thank you all for your testimonies!