A few years ago, my daughter-in-law’s mother fought a battle against ovarian cancer – and won. Every year since then, the family has done the fundraising walk. This year, my grandson made t-shirts for him, his brother, and his new little sister. They were very creative and very cute. I saw pictures from the walk today and thought about what a blessing it is that her mother is doing well and that this gives everyone an opportunity to be re-grateful. It was a busy day in our household as my sister does a little more and continues to build strength. We looked at her infection a couple of times, and when we checked it tonight after saying our 2nd Novena prayer, it looked so much better. We promptly thanked God. Since my dad’s fall, it has been weeks since he has been to church. He decided to go today and made it through. We were all very happy about that. On the way home, we stopped to get the mail that we did not pick up yesterday. There were 2 cards in it for me which were unexpected and warmed my heart. At church, there was a young girl who was strapped into use a large contraption so that she could be mobile. It was a wheeled device that was mostly behind her and had armrests. It held her in an upright position so she was able to move her legs to walk. There was an older woman with her who struggled in her movements as well and I wondered if they may have the same kind of disease. It had to be a chore for them to just get to church, but it was obviously important enough for them to make it happen. At Mass, one of the scripture readings was Mark 8:27-35. Jesus asks his apostles who they think he is. There are many answers until Peter nails it – “You are the Messiah”. Accepting this reality changes the way we live – what we think about, how we treat people, how we spend our time, what we do with our money, and ultimately how we face the end of our lives. Jesus is hope, love, healing, peace. He is present in each of us.

I Found God today in a friend’s remission of cancer, in the continued support and gratefulness of family and friends, in a positive day for my healing sister, in my dad’s ability to go to church, in unexpected encouragement, in a lesson learned of perseverance, in the person of Jesus Christ and how He has changed my life.