My brother was planning on coming here for Christmas, but he called yesterday and said he didn’t think he was going to be able to make it. He has a bad back, and it was acting up. When he was here last year, it got so bad, he ended up in the ER. Nobody wanted him to go through that again. But, we felt bad if he would not be able to spend Christmas with the family. After the phone call, I rallied the family and we prayed hard that he would wake up in the morning all better and be able to come. We included the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes. I continued my prayers this morning, then checked in with him. He said his back was feeling much better and he was going to make the trip. He made it safe and sound and we got him set up with the most comfortable bedding. I am still praying that he continues to do well and everyone enjoys the visit.

My mom, dad, and I went to Christmas Mass this afternoon. We got there as early as we possibly could as it was the first service and we knew it would be full. I dropped my parents off at the door, found a parking spot and met them inside. They usually sit in the back in the chairs as it is comfortable for my mom and they bring Communion back to the people who have difficulty walking down to the front. However, when I got inside, I could see that most chairs were full and the rest appeared to be “saved”. My parents were making their way down the middle aisle of the church looking from side to side to find a seat with no luck. I turned around and looked back and saw 2 empty chairs in the front row of the back section. I went over and made sure they were in fact empty. I put my purse down on them quickly and retrieved my parents who were still searching. I found an empty spot myself not too far from them. Now that we were settled, I could turn my mind to the celebration. The children’s choir participated along with some adults, so the music was adorable and beautiful. I loved singing along with the basic Christmas songs. The priest started his homily by talking about Charlie Brown’s Christmas. He said he notice something this year that he had not before. When Linus takes the stage to recite the true meaning of Christmas, at the words, “Fear not,” Linus purposefully drops his security blanket. The wise priest drew the analogy that it can be a scary world that we live in right now and we can try to hold on to many things to handle that fear. However, if we let go of those things that give us false security, then we can hang on to God, who created us and loves us, and is our ultimate protector. Of course, when I got home, I had to look it up, and sure enough, Linus drops his blanket at the words, “Fear not,” then picks it up again when he is finished with the scripture. The priest said a lot of really great things, but this one stuck with me.

I Found God today in an unexpected healing of my brother and celebrating Christmas Mass.