Struggles
Serving the Poor
The parish I worked for several years ago was located in the capitol city of the state, although it still had a small town feel. As with most large cities, there were many homeless people. Although that wasn’t my field of expertise, I encountered many in that situation. I learned that there are many reasons […]
Giving Tree Gifts
My son and grandson were also sick this week, but my daughter in law and other kids were able to pick out some gifts for the church giving tree. They brought them by yesterday and my mom and I enjoyed wrapping them. I was happy I felt well enough to go to church today and […]
Shared Experience
After my post yesterday, I read several others from people who also had a “different” Thanksgiving. They also expressed their gratitude for those loved ones in their lives. So many times we all want to put our happy face out on social media. And I think it is good to be optimistic and have a […]
“Different” Thanksgiving
Mom gets easily overwhelmed these days, so we talked about how we could make Thanksgiving a little more calm for her. We decided to just have dinner here with me, my sister, and my mom. Then later, my son, his wife and kids and my other son and his girlfriend came over for dessert. We […]
Admitting Weakness
I have been continuing to listen and reading along with the book, “The Imitation of Christ.” It is deep and heavy for me, but truthful and thought provoking. I’m glad each session is only a few minutes in length. Today was the chapter entitled, “Admitting our weakness and the miseries of this life.” While it […]
Always Have God
Today was a particularly challenging day. As always, God showed up. It was in today’s meditation from “Jesus Calling” which my mom read to us after dinner. It said at the end, “You will always face trouble in this life. But more importantly, you will always have Me with you, helping you to handle whatever […]
Faith in Grief
I heard from a friend of mine today that her husband passed away. I met them years ago. My mother was participating in the Parkinson’s exercise class and so was my friend’s husband. He was having a very difficult time already back then – particularly with falling. He even fell during the class. My friend […]
The Village
I have learned that it takes a village not only to raise our children, but to care for our elderly. I am grateful for the nurses who come over, those who bathe my mom, those who come spend time with her, and of course family. Today we had a new addition to that list. My […]
Defense Against Anxiety
My mom read her reflection from “Jesus Calling” this evening. The first sentence gave us both cause to pause. It is written as if Jesus is talking directly to you. “Anxiety is a result of envisioning the future without Me. So the best defense against worry is staying in communication with Me.” Enough said. I […]
Hand Massage
My son’s girlfriend recently completed her massage therapy certification after a year of hard work. Today she came over and visited for a while. My mom has a particularly difficult time in the afternoons, so the young woman gave my mom a soothing hand and arm massage. She was so calm and gentle and spoke […]
Still Finding God 