“We must examine ourselves to see if we are at fault. If we are not at fault, the obstacle is most likely from God for our benefit. For this reason, no one should worry if the work was not done, or if it was delayed. Once I was coming down from the Monastery of Stomion and going to Konitsa for an urgent matter. At a difficult turn in the road – I called it Golgotha – I met uncle Anastasi, who was known to us in the Monastery, with three loaded animals. The steep terrain and the heavy load had caused their saddles to slip and one animal was in danger of falling off the edge of the road into the ravine. Uncle Anastasi said to me, “God sent you, Father.” I helped him unload and reload the animals and put them back on the road and I left him. After continuing on my way for a considerable distance, I reached a point where a mudslide had just taken place, covering about three hundred meters of the road. Trees and rocks had fallen down into the river. If I had not delayed my journey, I would have been there precisely at the time the mudslide took place. So I said to myself, “Uncle Anastasi, you saved me. God sent you.”

– ‘Spiritual Awakening’