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Mother and Son

Posted by eph21920 on August 5, 2022 in Birthday, Family, Joy

Today is my brother’s 65th birthday, which in itself seems surreal. Growing up in the 1960’s, he has always had a fondness for tie-dye. When his favorite tie-dyed tank top started to show it’s age, my sister graciously replaced it. For his birthday, my mom and I added a tie-dyed t-shirt to his wardrobe to keep him well stocked. I took a photo of him with my mom. It was a little mind blowing to see my tiny mom with her much taller 65 year old son. But it was beautiful to see the joy and pride on her face.

I Found God today celebrating my brother’s birthday.

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Her Jewelry

Posted by eph21920 on August 4, 2022 in Answer, Family, Grateful, Life, Love, Marriage, Past, Relationship

Before my dad died, he, my mom, and I made notes about the interesting items they have collected from their travels around the world. We wanted to make sure people knew what they were and where they came from. My mom has been wanting to do the same thing with her jewelry. Tonight we decided to just dive in and get started. I took little videos of her explaining where the different necklaces and earrings came from and for what occasion she received them. Of course, most of them came from my dad. I loved listening to her stories and I was glad that the memories were good and didn’t make her sad.

I Found God today listening to my mom’s stories and memories.

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True Strength

Posted by eph21920 on August 3, 2022 in Connected, Death, Faith, Grief, Life, Struggles

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 was beautiful and telling of the strong, faithful woman she is.

“I believe deeply that God does his best work in our lives during times of great heartbreak and loss, and I believe that much of that rich work is done by the hands of the people who love us, who dive into the wreckage with us and show us who God is, over and over and over.” Shauna Niequist.

I Found God today in the strength of a beautiful, faithful woman.

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Special Mass

Posted by eph21920 on August 1, 2022 in Death, Eucharist, Family, Priest

A couple months ago, I had scheduled with our parish that one of the Mass intentions would be for my dad. It was on the books for yesterday. Since I was away, my sister took my mom to the Mass. Our “usual” seats are in the first row of chairs in the back of the church. There is room for mom’s walker and the padded chairs are more comfortable than the hard, slanted pews. My mom and sister reported that they were able to sit in that same spot. Normally a Eucharistic Minister will come to the back of the church and bring Holy Communion directly to my mom and others who cannot easily maneuver a line. However, yesterday the priest himself came to the back and distributed Holy Communion to my mom and everyone else. That felt pretty special.

I Found God today in a caring gesture.

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Uplifting Weekend

Posted by eph21920 on July 31, 2022 in Connected, Faith, Fun, Grateful, Laughter, Life, Priest, Travel

About 35 years ago I started working a 5 year stent at Target. During that time, I became good friends with many of my coworkers. We would get together, celebrate milestones, camp, and even travel together. We had a lot of fun, but also had serious life conversations. From early on, we always called one of the guys Fr. Jim. As it turned out, he went to Medjugorje where he felt God calling him to become a priest. He attended seminary in Rome, where he actually met now St. Pope John Paul II and St. Mother Teresa. It was a blessing to attend his ordination 25 years ago. This weekend was the celebration of his anniversary. The festivities were held in the town of his current parish about 2 hours away. I was so happy to be able to go and 5 of us made the trip. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the church and were told that the front pew was reserved for us. It was beautiful to participate at Mass with him as presider. At the dinner, Fr. Jim introduced everyone. When he came to our Target table, we all cheered for him and ourselves as he said that we were some of the first people to encourage him to become a priest. We met many other wonderful people there and visited with some of them at the hotel later that night. In the morning, before we parted ways, we recognized how wonderful it was to be all together and how much we all needed the uplifting getaway. We are an eclectic group of individuals who God put together as employees in a department store. Now 35 years later, we are blessed indeed with the friendship and support of one another.

I Found God today in an uplifting weekend.

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St. Neighbor

Posted by eph21920 on July 29, 2022 in Answer, Faith, Friends, Generosity, Home, Life, Saint, Struggles

We quickly became friends with our neighbors when they moved in several years ago. They are kind, generous, faithful, and have lots of great stories to tell. Recently, I have been asking the husband to take care of some things that I just can’t do. My mom and I were talking about him at dinner. Just before they were to move in, he had a massive heart attack and open heart surgery. That delayed their move by several months. But now, you would never know. He is so busy doing all kinds of things. And, as I said, he does things for us that are less than glamorous with a smile on his face. My mom said we have our own saint living next door. I agreed.

I Found God today in my wonderful saintly neighbor.

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Nick of Time

Posted by eph21920 on July 28, 2022 in Doctor, Grateful, Problem

The dentist office is one of my least favorite places to go. Ever. Without elaborating, I had an appointment this morning. I prayed before and during the procedure that all would go well. I left feeling ok. However, things didn’t go as they were supposed to, so I dropped back in. I got there just before the dentist and his assistant were about to leave. They stayed and helped me get back on track with patience and empathy. I was grateful for that.

I Found God today in the helpful dentist.

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Piece of the Puzzle

Posted by eph21920 on July 27, 2022 in Answer, Connected, Family, Home, Life

I saw a quote from Toby Mac in a couple different places, so it seemed like an important message to hear and the share:

“You are part of a puzzle in someone’s life. You may never know where you fit, but someone’s life may never be complete without you in it.”

I Found God today in a reminder of the importance of every life.

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Good St. Anne

Posted by eph21920 on July 26, 2022 in Faith, Family, Grateful, Life, Love, Saint

From the Divine Office of daily readings: “Today the Church honors Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the maternal grandparents of Jesus. The accounts of this holy couple in the apocryphal fourth-century Proto-evangelium of James deliver the consistent message that this couple infused wisdom, virtue, and a love for God into their family. Through them, we are reminded of the importance of the generations around us. Parents and grandparents often share experiences that build family values, cultural identity, and display the abundance of God’s love for His children.” St. Anne is my mom’s patron saint. Even though my mom said she didn’t know a lot about St. Anne, I would say she emulates her pretty well. She has always been a patient, quiet witness of faith and love. I am grateful for the impact she has made upon me and our family.

I Found God today in my mom’s sharing her faith with her family.

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Taking Flight

Posted by eph21920 on July 25, 2022 in Baby, Creation, Grateful, Joy, Life, Weather

We have so much enjoyed watching the pair of Red-Tailed Hawks over the past few months as they built their nest on the tall pine tree in our yard and raised a single chick. During the last few weeks, the fledgling has grown considerably and we can see the difference in it every day. It has been losing it’s downy white feathers and growing in the more brown and tan colors of it’s parents. Last week it started hop/flying around the tree branches. One particular day, it was on the very top of the tree and spread it’s wings wide as a storm blew in. It obviously liked the feeling of the wind beneath it’s wings. The wind picked up and got pretty hectic and at one point, it looked like the baby was hanging on by one toe – or talon. It quickly went back down into the nest. I knew it would be flying soon. Yesterday evening we had another thunderstorm roll in with quite a bit of rain. Our neighbors called to say that the fledgling was on the roof of our house. I went out with the camera and there it was, perched on the roof, absolutely drenched. I went inside to bring my mom out, but the bird was gone by the time we came back out. Today I saw the baby fly from one tree to the other, then again in a big circle around the tree and back up to the top. I understand it will stay close to home for a couple more weeks. It is truly an amazing gift to have this family right here where we can watch them all day and appreciate the wonders of nature up close.

I Found God today in a growing baby hawk.

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