Death
Family Reunited
My mom and I were talking about our neighbors’ grandson who was born premature, then got sick, but now is home. My mom talked about the baby that she had born premature. His lungs weren’t fully developed and unfortunately at that time, the medical professionals didn’t have the technology to treat infants born too early. […]
Exceptional Humility
Tonight we watched the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI. Of course it was attended by cardinals, bishops, priests, nuns, heads of state, and lay people. There has been a lot of talk the past few days of his great humility – particularly as he stepped down from his office realizing he was no longer able […]
Hope In Him
Today a friend shared her reflection on 2 Corinthians 5:8 “Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.” She wrote about how the scripture gave her hope after her grandmother died. I thought it was beautiful. Tonight I went to a grief support group. Part of […]
The Shadowbox
My brother hand made a beautiful shadowbox to display my dad’s military certificate, medals, epaulettes, photo, and flag. It was truly a labor of love. He had never done anything like that before, but a friend who had all the tools and knowledge helped him work it out. He brought it with him and showed […]
Can’t Run From Grief
Last night I went to the grief support group. One thought that struck me was that you can’t run away from grief. It will catch up to you one way or another. When I got home, I looked through the mail and saw a newsletter from the Hospice organization. The first article I came to […]
All Souls Mass
All Souls Day took on new meaning this year with the death of my dad. The church had a Mass dedicated specifically for those who died this past year. I brought a couple photos of my dad to the church. Mom picked out the one with him wearing his military uniform. One photo was fastened […]
Not a Saint
For the past week, I have been listening to a biography of St. Therese of Lisieux’s parents – Sts. Louis and Zelie Martin. They were extraordinary parents who served God faithfully through the joys and sorrows of their lives. Even though from their youth they wanted to be consecrated to God and not marry, circumstances […]
Rest and Reflection
I have been super tired the last couple days, so I was very happy that our friend came over today to stay with my mom for a couple of hours. I visited my son and his wife who are celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary today. Then I spent some quiet time in church as I […]
Dying To Self
Today I listened to a meditation that focused on dying to self. The message was about our need to allow parts of ourselves to “die”. Perhaps bad habits, thoughts, ways we treat others, burdens we carry,..etc. We need to let go of the things that are not of God – not blessing us or others. […]
True Strength
Many times, perhaps most, strength doesn’t meant going it alone, standing and fighting by yourself. It means relying on others, allowing others to help. Mostly, relying on God. A friend of mine’s husband died unexpectedly several years ago. As she was reflecting on the anniversary of his death, she shared a quote that I thought […]
Still Finding God 