Struggles
Keep Me In Your Heart
A friend of mine and her family invited a gentleman to live with them 8 years ago. At the time, he was suffering from COPD and living on his own in a small house in a rough part of town. The doctors said he had about 18 months to live. He had no living family […]
Carrying Our Cross
I prayed a rosary this morning particularly for a friend who is in the hospital. She has been there longer than anticipated and continues to struggle. I came to the 4th sorrowful mystery, which is Jesus carrying the Cross. As I pondered this image, I remembered the scripture from Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all […]
Faith Through Struggles
This afternoon I was able to talk with my neighbor to find out how his wife was doing. She has been in the hospital, having had surgery over a week ago. While she is getting better in one way, she is still struggling in others. He doesn’t yet know when she may be able to […]
Do Not Be Afraid
I have been thinking about what my future is going to look like. I had somewhat thought about what I may want to do after my parents died, and where I might want to be. But now it’s here and it is a big unknown. I listened to the Gospel reading and reflection for Mass […]
God’s Words
My sister and I went to Mass this morning and the scripture readings were so meaningful – as well as the hymns. The theme was that God is with us through all the storms in our lives. After Mass, there was a reception for the beloved priest who came to our house several times and […]
Quality Caregivers
We have struggled for months to get quality, caring, committed caregivers in the house to help care for my mom. Especially as her needs change and she continues to decline, this becomes harder and harder. It makes me hesitant to try new people, but it is necessary as I become more exhausted. Recently we hired […]
Carrying Her Cross
This morning my mom wasn’t feeling very well at all. She surprised me by saying she felt like she was carrying her cross. I agreed. We talked about how everyone has their cross to carry as they make their way home to God. When I got in the car to go to church, I heard […]
Don’t Beat Yourself Up
Due to our lack of sleep, we decided to hire overnight caregivers. The first one came a couple nights ago. At the same time, we discovered that my mom was in tremendous pain. We did everything we knew to do, but it didn’t seem to make any difference. I called the Hospice company who sent […]
A Break
I have been getting very little sleep lately and had pretty much hit the proverbially wall. Today I was grateful that my sister cared for my mom all day so I could have a break. I tried to nap, but slept less than I would have liked. I’m hoping sleep will come tonight. I Found […]
Utmost Patience
My mom was somewhat agitated today which ramped up in the afternoon as usual. However, she was more unsettled than normal. She was up and down and in and out of bed instead of napping. She was so tired, but would only lay down for a couple minutes before getting up. Luckily, one of our […]
Still Finding God 