Our neighbors came over tonight to celebrate my parents. When they arrived, we hugged. It was then that we realized it had been over a year since we visited in the house and hugged one another. We hugged again. It was wonderful.
I Found God today getting double hugs.
Ever since I received my COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, I have had a headache. Sometimes it’s there in the background, other times it is throbbing. I was talking to my mom about it today and told her that every night when I go to bed, I think that maybe I’ll feel like myself again tomorrow. My mom said she has felt like that for years. Sometimes, in all my busy-ness with the tasks of each day, I forget how my mom struggles. I was reminded of the suffering that she endures every single day. I was also reminded how she remains humble and tries to be positive as she perseveres.
I Found God today, not in suffering, but through it.
Today I read a story about Blessed Solanus Casey who was a priest who served in Detroit, Michigan. He was known for helping to heal the sick and burdened through the intercession of Jesus Christ. People asked him the age old question of why God allows suffering. Fr. Solanus didn’t have an answer, but would say to those who came to him:
“God cares for you; only fear and distrust on your part can thwart his good designs.”
That response touched my heart.
I Found God today in reminder to remain faithful and in God’s plan.
A friend called me last night all wired. She told me the story of an accident she had been in a couple hours earlier. She was waiting to turn right onto a busy road when she saw the whole thing unfold. A car turned left across the busy road coming her direction. Another car on the busy road going the opposite direction couldn’t stop and ran almost full force into the left turning car. He tried to veer to miss her and in doing so headed straight towards my friend. My friend said she started praying immediately that he would not hit her in the driver’s side door, which is exactly where he was going. But. he ended up hitting her car in the rear instead and took off the back bumper and a tire. He also grazed the car behind her. Ironically, the woman in the car behind her had waved her to go in front of her before they reached the intersection. When my friend got out of the car, the woman behind her was lying on the ground. She said she was hurting where the seat belt was. She said she was a single mom and just found out she has MS. She was driving an older smaller car, and if she had been the one in front, the damage would have been catastrophic. Out of the 4 people involved in the accident, all went to the hospital except my friend. She took all the photos of the scene and passed them along to her insurance company. When the tow truck came to take her car, he even gave her a ride home. And later she found out that her car was not totaled and would be repaired. I talked to my friend today and she was still doing ok. She said that she knew God heard her prayers. After this bad scare, she was grateful that she wasn’t hurt, that her car will be fixed, and that the single mom behind her didn’t take the brunt of the impact. We are all praying for all the people involved.
I Found God today as He watched over my friend in a scary accident.
Usually we say some prayers after dinner. The prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes is done almost nightly along with a decade of the rosary. There are others we pray depending upon the season and the happenings that day. However, because I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, I laid down immediately after dinner and the prayers were missed, even though that was an occasion when prayers should not have been missed. Some time during the night, my dad woke up my mom to say the prayers. They prayed a decade of the rosary. It must have been in my dad’s subconscious. I felt much better when I got up this morning, so perhaps he was praying for me. However, I felt guilty for missing those prayers and realized how meaningful they are. I vowed not to skip them again.
I Found God today in my dad’s mid-night prayers.
I had my 2nd COVID-19 vaccine yesterday. I was grateful that I felt pretty good during the day to celebrate with my parents. However, last night was another story. I started running a fever and my body ached. I didn’t sleep much, even though I tried everything I could think of. I prayed a rosary, a chaplet of Divine Mercy, and any other prayer I knew from memory. I had put lavender lotion on my hands and feet. I turned my electric blanket on low to keep me warm. I took Tylenol along the way. I even listened to a guided meditation. I was able to catch a few winks here and there, but real sleep was elusive. This morning didn’t bring much relief, So, I hunkered down with a super comfy sweatshirt that my brother sent me a while back, and my super soft Grammy blanket that I got for Christmas. I was so grateful that we thought ahead so my sister was here to care for the household. Even while I’m feeling pretty bad, I’m happy that this vaccine is available to keep my parents and I protected. There is still much to be grateful for.
I Found God today in needed help and comfort.
Today my parent’s celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary. And flower season at the house has begun. The other day they received a bouquet from my mom’s sister. The next day my sister came and brought a bouquet that ironically matched the first one. Today my parent’s received a large bouquet of red roses and irises from my brother. He enjoys splurging on them. Yesterday I took my dad shopping to get something for my mom. He perused the bouquets, potted plants, and orchids. Then he came across some corsages. He remembered how he would get my mom a corsage sometimes a couple times a month as they went to high school dances, then college dances, and then military formals and parties. He picked out a lovely orchid corsage and wrote on the box, “Remember the Saturday evening dances at high school and college in Oshkosh, and the formal parties.” My mom wore her corsage all day. They got out their photo albums that had pictures of some of the events. This day kicks off 3 weeks of celebrations and the house will be full of flowers for the whole period of time.
I Found God today in the joy and memories that flowers bring.
Today, we listened to the homily of our favorite priest. He always has a way of sharing his humanity while leading through the explanation of the Scriptures. Today he told about when he was a child and role played, as all children do. He would pretend he was a fireman and load up his wagon with all the necessary firefighting equipment. Then he would hitch it to his tricycle and ride around the neighborhood making the sound of a siren. He also pretended to be a farmer and fed his pretend animals. And he role played being a priest. He said that he never had any fear when he was pretending to be fireman or a farmer. But, when he was playing as a priest, he would occasionally think about what if Jesus were to appear to him right then and there? What would he do or say? And he would become frightened. As I pondered this, I thought it was likely that there was reality in playing a priest. Even as a child, he knew that Jesus was real and could in fact appear at any time – unlike his pretend farm animals. He likened this fear to that of the apostles in today’s Gospel. But, just like the apostles, as time went on and they knew Jesus more intimately, they became less afraid. Their faith grew as their fear diminished.
I Found God today in a reminder of the peace that Jesus offers to quell my fear.
My mom called and talked with her sister this evening. Her sister told us of how she went to church this evening. The small country church had been closed for a year due to COVID, but opened after Easter. She said she was so happy to go to church, she couldn’t even fully explain how wonderful it was. It felt normal. They talked about how going to church is such a huge part of their lives – especially when there is so little going on for them right now. But it was more than just the “going” to church, it was “being” in church. While it was was difficult for my aunt to express what she meant, we understood. And I am sure there are millions of others who understand as well.
I Found God today in a reminder of the blessing of going to church.
My mom’s 2 pianos haven’t been tuned for a couple of years now. She had been using the same gentleman for many years, but the last couple of times he came, my mother wasn’t happy with the sound. He was getting old and we thought it was probably time to find someone new. But that is hard. My mom has perfect pitch and doesn’t want just anyone touching her instruments. After research and talking with some of her musician friends, I made a phone call and an appointment. The young tuner came over today. He walked in, looked at the grand piano, and exclaimed, “Is this a C-7? I love them!” Yes, it was in fact a C-7. He sat down and played beautifully, then got to work. My mom and I sat in the other room to give him his space. As he was tuning, my mom said that she could feel the reverberations in her stomach. Then when it hit the correct pitch it would settle down. She asked if I could feel that. I said absolutely not. God gave her this gift of music from the beginning and it is literally a part of who she is. She even got teary eyed explaining what it felt like to her. The new piano tuner did a great job. My mom sat down and played for a long time, enjoying the beautiful tones.
I Found God today realizing the depth of my mom’s connection to music.
