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Still Knew Prayers

Posted by eph21920 on April 25, 2026 in Death, Faith, Friends, Grateful, Peace

A few years ago, I met a woman and her mom when I was attending a grief support program at the church after my dad died. The mother had been recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s. I told them about the support group that my mother had been attending and we went all together a couple of times. Recently, it has become difficult for her to get out of the house, so I have been visiting and bringing them Communion every week. I touched base with the daughter today. She called and told me her mother had stopped eating and drinking. She wasn’t able to swallow any of her pills, so was only receiving comfort medication. I decided to go over this afternoon. I couldn’t bring Communion to her in that condition, but wanted to visit and pray with her. When I arrived, I was surprised that she was awake and mostly alert. I told her I wanted  to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet with her and asked it she knew it. She responded, “Not by heart”. I told her I would pray it out loud and she could join in, or pray in her heart. The Divine Mercy is a pray shared by St. Faustina. In her diary, she wrote this message from Jesus,

“Pray as much as you can for the dying. By your entreaties [that is, insistent prayers] obtain for them trust in My mercy, because they have most need of trust, and have it the least. Be assured that the grace of eternal salvation for certain souls in their final moment depends on your prayer. You know the whole abyss of My mercy, so draw upon it for yourself and especially for poor sinners. Sooner would heaven and earth turn into nothingness than would My mercy not embrace a trusting soul” (Diary, 1777).

I started the prayer, which uses the rosary beads, and the woman said the Our Father and Hail Mary with me. Be the time I finished the Apostles Creed, she had closed her eyes and was breathing deeply. Every now and again, she seemed to mouth the words to the prayers. At the end of the Chaplet, she looked pretty comfortable and asleep. When I said Amen, she opened her eyes and we made the sign of the Cross together. She still knew her prayers. During the rest of my time with her, she would sleep, then be wide awake and we would talk for a minute before she went back to sleep. It was truly a peaceful, blessed time and I was so grateful I was able to be there.

I Found God today spending time with a dying woman.

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The Moose

Posted by eph21920 on April 24, 2026 in Answer, Creation, Friends, Opportunity

The other day my friends told me that there had been a moose in their driveway. Their son who lives next door came out and took some photos. Evidently she had been wandering around the neighborhood there for a couple of weeks. This morning when I arrived at their house, there was a pickup truck parked in front of it and several other cars in the cul-de-sac with people meandering around. At first I was afraid something had happened to my friends. But as I looked closer, it looked more like animal control. I parked in the driveway, got out of the car, and asked what was happening. The woman with authority from the Department of Wildlife came over and explained the situation. The 2 year old moose was back and was laying under my friend’s porch. Since she had not moved out of the neighborhood and was making it her home, they decided it best to capture her and bring her to a sanctuary. Evidently people were feeding her and trying to pet her which could make for a very dangerous situation all around. They had darted the moose who then got up from under the porch and moved to the next house over. She was laying in the shade under a big tree. They were trying to keep it very quiet so as not to alarm her while they waited for the tranquilizer to take effect. Then, they would carry her out and put her in a trailer. I went inside and talked to my friends who saw the whole thing play out. I could see where she was lying from the window. My friends encouraged me to go outside and get a closer look. So I did. I met their neighbor across the backyard and watched from there. After the moose was sufficiently tranquilized, the wildlife people got to work. They tied up her legs and tagged her ear. Then they kind of rolled her over onto a huge tarp with handles. Then 9 people grabbed a part of the tarp and started carrying the large moose. As they got closer I could hear her heavy breathing. The team stopped every few feet to catch their breath and eventually made it over to the large cattle trailer. There was one last team effort and they carried the moose inside. Everyone in the neighborhood was watching and taking photos and videos. It was quite an exciting event. The whole ordeal made me wonder why people can’t leave wildlife wild, but it also made me appreciate the Department of Wildlife who are so dedicated to their well being.

I Found God today in the efforts to help a moose.

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Finding Prayers

Posted by eph21920 on April 23, 2026 in Faith, Friends, Prayer

Today I was at a friend’s house helping her clean out some things. She had a super cute little stand with small drawers and a place to stash books and magazines on the outside. It was located next to her comfy chair, but she was unable to reach the drawers at all. I pulled out a couple of the drawers so she could look through them. One was full of little prayer books and prayer cards. My friend explained where each one came from. She found a book that her son had given to her in 1998. He had written a beautiful note on the inside cover that she read to me. It was very sweet. She also found a prayer for our country. We stopped what we were doing and said the prayer together. It was truly a blessed time.

I Found God today in prayers.

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Sharing Bread

Posted by eph21920 on April 22, 2026 in Family, Food, Generosity, Grateful

My daughter in law texted me tonight saying that she had made some cardamom buns and wondering if I would like one. I said yes please. She was out delivering, so brought one to me. It was funny as I had made a banana bread recipe with steel cut oats. When my daughter in law arrived at my house, my bread was in the oven just finishing up. I tasted the cardamom bun she brought me, which was very different from anything I had ever had, but was delicious. I ate about half of it and put the rest aside for tomorrow. We visited a while as my bread finished up. After it set a few minutes, we gave it a taste. It was more of a banana oatmeal bake than a bread, really, with a steel cut oat texture. It was also delicious and filling. I thought it was very generous of my daughter in law to think of me and deliver bread. It was also somewhat ironic that I was baking as well. I enjoyed our bread sharing.

I Found God today sharing bread with my daughter in law.

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Wisdom from Pope Francis

Posted by eph21920 on April 21, 2026 in Connected, Life, Pope

Today is the anniversary of the death of Pope Francis. I came across this timely, beautiful quote,

“We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it. We have had enough of immorality and the mockery of ethics, goodness, faith and honesty. It is time to acknowledge that light-hearted superficiality has done us no good. When the foundations of social life are corroded, what ensues are battles over conflicting interests, new forms of violence and brutality, and obstacles to the growth of a genuine culture of care for the environment.”

I Found God today in words of wisdom.

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People in my Life

Posted by eph21920 on April 20, 2026 in Connected, Faith, Family, Friends, Grateful, Relationship

I had a busy, but wonderful weekend and I am feeling grateful for the people and relationships in my life. On Saturday I spent some time at a kind of mini retreat day with some ladies I didn’t really know too well. It was nice to get to know one another better. My mom’s best friend was there also, to my surprise, so it was nice to visit with her a bit and make plans to get together. After the prayer time and lunch, I packed up my car and went to the cabin. I was glad that my sister met me there that evening. The next morning, both of my sons and my grandson came up. They moved some furniture and I made them brunch. Another friend who is a realtor came up also and got a lot of information as we will be listing it for sale soon. After everything was cleaned up, we all headed home. I brought my grandson with me and he commented that we were really good travel buddies. I agreed. Last night I went to the movie “Project Hail Mary” with my son and his wife. The story was not what I expected, but it was a very good movie. Today I met with my prayer group. I had not met with them for a couple of months as I was working, so it was really good to be with them all again. As I reflected on these busy past couple of days, I just felt so grateful for the people God has put in my life.

I Found God today in the people in my life.

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Helping Again

Posted by eph21920 on April 17, 2026 in Faith, Friends, Grateful, Happiness, Laughter, Prayer

Before I started working my job with the CPA, I was helping an elderly couple that I know. While I was busy with my job, a friend who helped care for my mom was able to step in for me. I was glad that it worked out for everyone. Since I finished my job on Wednesday, I went over to the couple’s home today. I spent some time doing some cleaning and other things that needed to be done. The physical therapist came over while I was there, and I watched and followed and got tips on how to best help the woman do her exercises and stay as strong and balanced as possible. It was interesting that so many of the prompts and assistance was the same as I did with my mom, even though myom had Parkinson’s and my friend does not. She had an assessment and did the best she had ever done. I thought maybe she was showing off for me. We laughed and prayed together. I think she really did miss my company. I was happy to lift her spirits.

I Found God today helping friends in need.

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What is Trust

Posted by eph21920 on April 16, 2026 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Relationship, Trust

I was happy to go to Mass today and I thought the homily was something that I have been longing to hear. The topic was on trusting God. The priest talked about how we may think we are not trusting God with a certain situation or challenge, because we can still worry or be afraid. However, he said trusting God is moving forward no matter what your circumstances are. It is to do the things we need to do in our relationship with God such as praying and going to church and such. Those actions show that we do trust God and desire to be with Him. There have been many times in my life – especially caring for my parents – when I didn’t understand what was going on around me, or why things had to be so difficult. I kept saying I trusted God, but internally I didn’t feel like I had much confidence that He was working things out for the good. Sometimes, I still question that. I wonder, how can I say that I trust God when I can have doubts and fears. But I continue to try to stay close to Him. And the more I do, the more peace I have. I stress less and worry less. So, I guess that proves that He is still working in my heart and in my life. I was grateful to hear that showing up for God, particularly during challenging times, does actually reflect our trust in Him.

I Found God today in a new way of thinking about trust.

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Finished Work

Posted by eph21920 on April 15, 2026 in Answer, Grateful, Job, Knowledge, Life, New, Opportunity

Today was the last day at my job working for the CPA. I enjoyed what I did, though it was more than I anticipated with longer days and a huge learning curve. But when all was said and done, I did learn the computer system, the filing system, and how to best work with my boss. I enjoyed talking with the people who came in and my heart went out to the elderly who are getting left behind in the technology. And there were several widows who were just trying to figure out what they were supposed to be doing. I realized that everyone needs a person to come along side them and help them through. Some of the elderly people had children or grandchildren that they would ask for help. Some did not. During the length of the job, I thought about ideas that might help those who are really struggling. I ran some of them past my boss, and we may explore some of them next year. In all, I was grateful for the job, for the needed income, for the ability to go out and learn and do something completely new.

I Found God today in a job opportunity.

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Tad Off Perfect

Posted by eph21920 on April 13, 2026 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Life

I listened to the reflection on Hallow today by Jeff Cavins. He told a story about a conversation he had with a gentleman comparing the sound of today’s music with that of the 1970’s. The music now has so much technological influence, it can be created with no flaws. The description that he used for the older music was a “tad off perfect”. It was more real. Jeff Cavins used the term to correspond with his faith life. I loved the comparison and the phrase. Some of us are a little further than just a tad off perfect, speaking for myself, and that’s why I need the One who is Perfection. I know that when I listen to God, I am not going to be led astray. I need His guidance constantly to keep me from going a tad further and further, lest I get so far away from God that I find myself in a big mess. Perhaps I can become a tad more loving, a tad more patient, a tad more forgiving, and a tad less anxious. I am grateful that God is the Almighty Perfect One who will always point me in the right direction.

I Found God today being a tad off perfect.

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