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Not For Me

Today’s reading to the letter of the Romans 14:7-9 by St. Paul was the focus of the homily by our pastor this morning. He talked about how damaging, lonely, and unfulfilling our lives can be if we think and live as if we are a self-made being; in other words, my focus is living my life doing what I want according to my own desires. This can lead to harming those around us as our concerns are on ourselves. At the same time, we are forgetting that we didn’t create ourselves, we didn’t will ourselves into existence. And we have no real control over how our life will ultimately finish. Similarly, when we are struggling, it can become all consuming. It can be too easy to forget that there are others in our lives who are also going through hard times. The reflection touched my heart and gave me pause to contemplate. I would do well to remember Paul’s words, “If we live, we live for the Lord. If we die, we die for the Lord. So then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” This is comforting and a reminder to be focused less on myself and more on others.

I Found God today in a reminder that I belong to Him.

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Mani Morning

My daughter in law and I went to a craft fair a couple of months ago and found a vendor who sold the fun stick on nail polish. Several years ago, the girls in the family got together on Zoom and had a nail party. When we saw the polish at the fair, we thought it would be much more fun to have a nail party in person. So we bought our favorite designs. This morning my daughter in law, granddaughter, two sisters, mom, and I all got together and decorated our fingernails. It was so much fun to have a girl’s get together. I was grateful for the lighthearted atmosphere.

I Found God today in a fun morning.

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Surprise Flowers

This evening after dinner, I received a text from a friend and neighbor. She said she left something for us on the porch and was thinking about us. I went to the porch and found a beautiful bouquet of flowers. It was certainly a joyful surprise and we felt pretty special.

I Found God today in surprise flowers.

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Sitting in the Rain

This afternoon my mom and I went out to porch to sit in the sunshine. We weren’t out too long before the clouds came over. Then it started to rain big drops. It wasn’t windy and the temperature was fine, so we sat out for a while as the large drops dotted the sidewalk and edge of the porch. We talked about how the sound of the rain is so calming and soothing. My mom also said that the air felt so fresh. It was a simple, enjoyable moment.

I Found God today enjoying the rain.

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Blessed Volunteer

Today my mom had a visit from a Hospice volunteer. The woman was super sweet and engaging as she asked my mom about herself. We had the photo albums on the table, so they looked through part of one together. She was full of encouragement and positivity. As they talked, she told my mom how blessed she was and what a wonderful life she led. I thought about what a blessing she was that she would volunteer her time to bring some reassurance and cheer to others that she has never met in what can be a very difficult situation. The visit was a little overwhelming for my mom as it takes a tremendous amount of energy for her to follow and carry on a conversation. Even so, I greatly appreciated the time, generosity, and affirmations of the volunteer.

I Found God today in a Hospice volunteer.

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Imitation of Christ

Today I started listening to a podcast of “The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas a Kempis, on the Hallow app. It started out by acknowledging that the literature is challenging. But to encourage the listener, a quote was read from the book that could be beneficial in many situations, “Do not be detoured, nor quickly cast down when you hear about the way of the perfect. Rather, be inspired to reach great heights, or at least aspire to attain them.” That in itself is challenging. It means I have to focus on what is most important for my soul and not get caught up in the sidetracks that our world has to offer. It also means I can’t live in apathy – not trying to improve myself and being comfortable where I am. I look forward to going through this book and hope to learn how to better follow Jesus Christ.

I Found God today staring a new spiritual guide.

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Sharing the Joy

My cousin shared a video of her granddaughter today that was just so adorable. The toddler was striking up a conversation with the mannequin at the store. At my cousin’s prompting, she said, “See you later!” Then, “Bye!” in that cute toddler voice. Then she trotted off down the aisle making clappity sounds with her sandals. The unbridled joy of children is contagious and we loved watching the video over and over again.

I Found God today in the joy of a child.

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Orion Appeared

My mom slept well last night – until 3:00 am. Then she was up and down for hours with a bit of a stomach upset. I was sleeping in her room, so I was up and down with her. At one point, after she laid back down, I just meandered through the house as I was tired of lying down and getting up. It was early, before dawn, and I took a peek outside. I noticed the sliver of the moon and so many stars in the sky. Then I saw the constellation Orion almost directly over head. I was immediately reminded of the night my dad died when we looked up and saw Orion. I felt that through my exhaustion, I wasn’t alone. My dad was still here looking after us. I felt comforted, smiled, and was able to rest a little.

I Found God today in a reminder that my dad is still with us.

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Amazing Advocates

Tonight as I was making dinner, we turned on the TV and the movie, “Back to the Future” had just started. It has always been one of my favorites. We watched for a while and my mom said she knew the name Michael J. Fox, but couldn’t place him. I told her that he has Parkinson’s Disease and has a foundation to help combat the disease. I showed her some pictures of him now. Then she remembered who he was. She then also remembered that Muhammad Ali had Parkinson’s as well. She and my dad saw him light the flame at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. As I looked up more information about him, I came across a picture of both Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali together as they spoke to Congress advocating for Parkinson’s Disease research. Both men had Parkinson’s Disease for over 30 years. While Michael J. Fox is still in the battle, Muhammad Ali fought the good fight. Their stories were heartbreaking, yet inspirational to both me and my mom.

I Found God today in stories of perseverance and advocacy.

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Steady Faith

This morning, I heard a lot of commotion outside the garage door. I went to investigate and saw a fire truck and ambulance parked next door. The EMTs were actually at the home of the “roof mate” of our neighbor’s. Several people were outside, concerned for the residents. The man who lives in the home was helping to care for his daughter who had been battling breast cancer. We recently discovered that she was having a difficult time and they were asking for prayers. They did take the daughter by ambulance to the hospital. Some of the neighbors were present to the father and sister who had arrived. I love how this community rallies around one another. While I was outside, I was talking with our neighbor who has had a couple of accidents resulting in brain injury. He said he recently is struggling with memory loss and at the same time has more awareness of where he is physically. He said his new outlook is “I don’t like IT; IT is; I am thankful for IT”. We can relate the IT to whatever circumstance we have right now. There are things that I certainly wish were different. But, as my neighbor said, we need to be thankful to God as He is glorified in all things. I thought that these were beautiful examples of steady faith.

I Found God today in steady faith.