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Go Up

Posted by eph21920 on June 2, 2022 in Answer, Connected, Death, Family, Grateful, Grief, Life, Love, Opportunity, Relationship, Struggles, Travel

Today I went to a grief support group. We were to tell about one of the things we loved the most about our loved one who died. I always loved how my dad took us on adventures. Even though I had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since I was 4 and couldn’t physically participate well, my dad included me in everything and pushed me to do what I could. In the group, I told the story of how my dad took me and a friend to Mesa Verde. It is a place where dwellings are built into the side of a cliff. I was about 13 at the time. At one point in the tour, we were to climb a ladder up the face of the cliff to hand and footholds on the side of the rock. I was terrified. I made it up the ladder, but was afraid to go further to the handhold. My dad was behind me and said, “You can’t go back, you have to go forward,” I did, and lived to tell about it. That statement became somewhat of a mantra for me. At the end of our group session, the leader read a quote for today, “When you think you are down for good, simply start affirming. What an advantage to have hit bottom. The bottom is as far down as I can go. The only direction from here is up. And up I am going.” Seemed a fitting thought to end with.

I Found God today reminded to go up.

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New Haircut

Posted by eph21920 on June 1, 2022 in Answer, Connected, Family, Grateful, Life, Stranger, Struggles

I have loved the young woman who has been cutting my and my mom’s hair for a couple of years now. So, I was pretty sad when she told me she was moving. It is so hard to find a new hairdresser. A friend connected us with her person for my mother. We went there today. The place was nice, small, quiet, intimate, but spacious. The woman who cut my mom’s hair was super nice and gentle. It seemed to be a perfect match. While my mom was being attended to, I met a woman who was waiting. She told me about her experience caring for her mother. As I have said before, we (caregivers and/or people in my generation) seem to have the same struggles, but the stories vary slightly. And it is important to share those stories. Her mother passed away a couple of months ago. It was an unexpected conversation that I think we both benefitted from as we encouraged one another. My mom was tired after her cut, but beautiful. I was grateful for the connection.

I Found God today in a wonderful haircut experience.

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Two Near Misses

Posted by eph21920 on May 31, 2022 in Car, Family, Grateful

Today my mom and I left the house for an appointment. We were on the busy street by the house and heading towards a traffic light that was green. Right before we entered the intersection, a van blew the red light from the crossroad and went straight across in front of us. That scared us pretty bad. If we would have been about 2 seconds earlier, we would have been in that intersection when the van flew through. We thanked God and needed to recover. Later this evening, I talked to my sister. As she was driving home tonight, almost the same scenario played out right in front of her, but there was a collision. She stuck around as a witness and to make sure everyone was ok. Another scary moment and one to be grateful for.

I Found God today in safety.

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Low Key

Posted by eph21920 on May 30, 2022 in Family, Grateful, Home, Life

Today was Memorial Day. My mom and I hung out at home and had a faux barbeque with ham, coleslaw, and watermelon. We talked about Memorial Day and being grateful for the men and women who gave their lives defending our country and our freedom. My dad was always very low-key about being a meteorologist in the Air Force, but we always thought it was pretty important to predict the weather to keep the pilots safe on their missions. While my mom was feeling better, she wasn’t up for any other outings. So, we sat outside a little, she napped a little, read a little, and played the piano a little. The highlight of the day was when we video chatted with my nephew and his wife. Today was their 2 year wedding anniversary – it was hard to believe. We got to see their new dog who was just so sweet. All in all, the day was just quiet and low energy, but that was fine.

I Found God today in a low energy day.

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Powerful Messages

Posted by eph21920 on May 29, 2022 in Answer, Connected, Grateful, Jesus, Knowledge, Life, Mercy, Opportunity, Struggles

After what seemed to be a really long day yesterday, we were grateful that my mom slept very well and long last night. She was feeling better today and even got dressed for church. But it would not have been a good idea to go, so we went downstairs and watched a local Mass on YouTube. The homily was POWERFUL about the meaning of our lives. Mom and I just looked at each other and said WOW! I highly recommend giving it a listen.
https://youtu.be/ywlZds7wFBU
If you just want to listen to the homily, it starts at 31:00. When that Mass ended just before Communion, we found the Mass with Fr. Mike Schmitz. It was another incredibly powerful homily about heroes in recognition of Memorial Day. You can find that one here: https://youtu.be/H0toLFC5C4Y After watching those two amazing messages, my mom had to nap. We were glad that she felt so much better today.

I Found God today in two powerful homilies.

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Made It

Posted by eph21920 on May 28, 2022 in Doctor, Family, Grateful, Life, Sick

Some days I am just grateful to make it through the day without having to go to the hospital. Today was one of those days. My mom hadn’t been feeling well since Wednesday. She had a bit of a sore throat that got much worse and then developed a cough. I had her take the rapid COVID test Thursday and Friday mornings. Both were negative. It really hurt for her to swallow, so I was glad to be able to get her to the doctor who did a strep and COVID test. Those also came back negative. He gave her steroids to help her feel better. She started on those today, but felt pretty bad this morning and spent most of the time in bed. I was happy that she got up in the afternoon and showered and ate. I was grateful that my son picked up some Kleenex and lozenges for us. I am mostly grateful to get her all tucked back in bed and ready to lay down myself.

I Found God today making it to the end of the day.

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Look To Jesus

Posted by eph21920 on May 28, 2022 in Answer, Faith, Family, Grateful, Life, Problem

Today my sister told me that she had misplaced her keys. She looked everywhere and couldn’t find them. When she was just about at her wits end, she remembered something she had read earlier – Look to Jesus. She did. The next place she looked, she found the keys.

I Found God today helping when He was asked.

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Turn in the Nest

Posted by eph21920 on May 26, 2022 in Creation, Happiness, Home, Joy

We have been entertained by watching the red-tailed hawks that have built a nest in one of the large pine trees in the yard. They get a little louder and more vocal every day. I know the couple takes turns sitting in the nest and flying around. Sometimes they are hunting and bring back tidbits for their mate. Sometimes they bring a coveted stick back to reinforce the nest. Typically, when the one in the next starts squawking, the other one will show up in a few minutes. When mom and I were sitting on the porch today enjoying the beautiful weather after the big snowstorm, the hawk in the nest started it’s cry. It would make a couple short screeches, then be silent for a few moments, then screech again. The wails got louder and longer until finally the mate showed up and landed on the house across the street. The bird in the nest flew out immediately and seemed to reprimand the one on the house as they had a little tussle. Within seconds they had traded places. The hawk that was in the nest was now on the house and appeared to be pretty happy about that. It preened for a little bit, stretched it’s wings, pooped, and flew off. It made a couple big wide turns back and forth as if to make sure it still knew how to fly. Things were quiet then again for a while. We love watching them and making up stories. We hope the eggs are viable and will hatch soon. Although I understand it could get even noisier. That’s OK.

I Found God today enjoy His creation.

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New Meaning to Sign of the Cross

Posted by eph21920 on May 25, 2022 in Faith, Friends, Prayer

Today a friend shared with me what she thinks about when she makes the sign of the cross to pray. When she marks her forehead and then her heart, she thinks about how God came down to us as Jesus. Then, when she marks each shoulder, she remembers that we are then sent out to share His love with others. I had never heard that before and thought it was beautiful.

I Found God today in a new meaning for the sign of the cross.

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Beautiful Hope

Posted by eph21920 on May 24, 2022 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Family, Grace, Grateful, Hope, Life, Love, Opportunity

I received some mail today from my thoughtful cousin. The package included an issue of Strength & Grace Devotional by Guideposts and a copy of Matthew Kelly’s book, “Beautiful Hope”. Matthew Kelly has a way of speaking and writing in a way that is meaningful, relevant, understandable, and simple. I opened the book and started reading right away. It stated with a couple stories of how real people found and shared real hope in our world that is struggling. One statement that stood out to me was, “God’s hope can be experienced and spread at any age, in any state of life, anytime, anywhere. All it takes is an open heart and a willing spirit.” And there’s the kicker. Openness. It is all too easy to get caught up in our lives’ problems and stresses, or perhaps in our lives’ ordinary daily hum. There is more – much more – that we can experience with God. It’s a matter of taking that first step out of our “normalcy”.

I Found God today reminded that He offers each of us a Beautiful Hope.

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