I suppose it was inevitable that I would get sick some day. Saturday night a fever came on and did me in. I am grateful for my sister who was here today and took care of my mom and me. I am grateful for my son who ran an errand for me. I am grateful for the N95 masks my brother provided that I can wear when I’m up and about. I’m grateful that mom and I are pretty much ready for Christmas. And I am grateful for Door dash.
I Found God today in needed help when I’m sick.
A friend of mine’s mother was taken to the Emergency Room last night with difficulty breathing. She asked everyone for prayers. Of course she was pretty scared. Later in the day, her mom was doing better as she responded to the treatment she was given. My friend was thanking God and everyone for their prayers. She told me a story of a spiritual encounter she had. Other members of the family were with her mom, so she was in the emergency waiting room with the rest of the family. A man who appeared to be homeless came up to my friend and asked if he could pray with and for her. She agreed. He knelt down on the floor as she made the sign of the cross. She listened to his beautiful words that brought her comfort, even though she couldn’t recall what they were. This was early on as the doctors were trying to figure out what needed to happen. My friend thought of the scripture verse Hebrews 13:12 “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” That man was certainly an angel to my friend.
I Found God today in an angel who prayed with my friend.
Mom and I got most of her pre-Christmas projects done, so we were able to start a little decorating. I took advantage of a warm day a few weeks ago and got the outside lights up. Yesterday we got out the creche and her collection of locally handmade dolls. They took their place prominently on the grand piano. This morning, the sun was shining in the window just right on the dolls as my mom came out of her room. That made her happy. A few minutes later, the sun had moved so it was illuminating the angel over the manger. It was beautiful. We’ll put up decorations a little each day now until Christmas. Each one will bring a new bit of joy.
I Found God today starting to decorate for Christmas.
On the Hallow app which I use daily, they have Advent/Christmas music by the Bocelli family that I listened to tonight. Of course, it was beautiful. There was also a quote by Andrea Bocelli, “I do not think anyone can ever do anything without the help and will of God.” What a blessing it was to end my day this way.
I Found God today in beautiful music from a faithful family.
Tonight I went to a friend’s house for dinner with people I have known for about 30 years. As usual there was catching up and a lot of laughter. One of the ladies contacted a couple of others who lived far away so we could all wish Merry Christmas. She is one who makes sure everyone is connected and stays in touch. Especially today I thought she was a particular blessing.
I Found God today in a friend who makes sure everyone stays connected.
For many years, I have been wanting to have something beautiful to look at in the window well of my room. I thought about an outside saint or angel statue, but found them to be so expensive. This summer, my sister and I were out and about and stopped in a shop that contained all things from Mexico. There, I found a cement statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Next to Our Lady of Lourdes, this is my favorite image of Mary, the Mother of God. I have been fascinated by the image that was miraculously imprinted upon the poncho of Juan Diego after his apparitions of her and the discoveries made from it. As the native people saw the image, the notion of a brown-skinned Mary figure was critical to the eventual conversion of millions of indigenous people to Roman Catholicism. She said ‘If you love me, trust me and believe in me, I will respond.’ So, I bought the statue and the employee had to heave her into the car for me. My sister helped me paint her – just a little – and waterproof her. Then, my son lifted and placed her in my window well. Today I cleaned out the window well, cleaned the windows, and placed some flowers at her feet. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
I Found God today in Our Lady of Guadalupe.
When my mom and I were out and about in the car today, we followed a flatbed pickup truck. When we came to a stop light, I noticed there was only a large toolbox in the back of the truck and a pitchfork. I pointed it out to my mom and told her how odd I thought it was that someone would just be carrying that around. My mom responded that it must be his calling – he works with pitchforks. She was serious and sincere. That’s not at all what I was thinking, but she showed me once again how to be kind and thoughtful.
I Found God today in my kind hearted mother.
Today I took my mom to the annual Parkinson’s group Christmas party. We had not been to it for 3 years – though that was hard to believe. The group had a gift exchange, but we chose not to participate. However, shortly after we sat down, a woman came up and just gave my mom a gift because she wanted her to have one. That was unexpected and generous. We sat with our new friend that I met at the grief support group. We had hot chocolate with peppermint stir sticks and marshmallows that were made to look like polar.bear faces. We took pictures with Santa. The entertainment was the same musical group they had in the past. I don’t know why, but I got teary eyed at the very beginning. Perhaps I was just happy to be out. Maybe I was feeling the joy of the season. Or perhaps I was moved by the spiritual sentiment of the song. The program was joyful and upbeat. I was so glad my mom was up to going. She was pretty tired this afternoon, but she had a good time.
I Found God today in a joy filled Christmas party.
I was talking to a friend yesterday who told me a story about her husband. He had a very rough drive home the other day with road closures and detours. Just when he thought he was in the clear, he ran over an obstacle in the road that he couldn’t avoid. There was a loud thud and he thought he had blown a tire. However, the truck was still driving fine. Then he noticed the gas gauge had gone all the way down. Whatever he drove over had punctured the gas tank. He drove as far as he could until he ran out of gas. He called his insurance company to get road side assistance. They asked a million questions and he lost his patience and was very rude to the person on the other end of the line. When all was said and done, he felt so bad about the way he treated the representative, that he called them back to apologize. I’m sure his simple courtesy and apology meant a lot to the representative. He is definitely one of the good guys.
I Found God today in the positive actions of a good guy.
Tonight my mom and I watched the Mass of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at the parish I used to work for. The pastor started by saying that this afternoon, the police received an emergency call that there was an active shooter at the school on campus. It is hard to even imagine this happening at a place so dear to my heart. However, it was a blessing that at that time, everyone was in the church celebrating Mass. Evidently a police officer told the pastor just before the final blessing. So, everyone stayed in the church while the police investigated the incident at the school. I can only imagine the fear that must have swept over the community. But, as the pastor said, Our Lady interceded for them and spared the children and teachers the anxiety of locking down and having police officers comb through their classrooms. Evidently there were several of the same calls throughout the state and all were a hoax. Thanking God that this day did not end in a tragedy.
I Found God today in safety for communities.
Still Finding God 