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Keeping On

My mom had appointments with two different specialists today. One was her Parkinson’s doctor and the other was her GI doctor. Both of them said it looks like things are going well and test results – while not perfect – didn’t show any major issues. The end result was the same for both as they told her to keep doing what she is doing and check back in a few months. That was good news to hear. It always makes my mom feel better when the doctors tell her that she is doing well.

I Found God today in favorable doctor’s appointments.

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Wonders for the Soul

Before my parents started having major health issues, they used to spend about half their time at the cabin and half in the city during the summer. Since I have been with them almost 7 years now, we have made several day trips there and have stayed over a couple of nights now and again. Today we returned from the cabin after having stayed 5 full days. After the activity of packing and driving to a higher altitude, we have realized that it takes a full 24 hours to settle in, and then everyone starts feeling better. Especially during this crazy time, we are so grateful to have this little retreat to escape to. We are grateful for our good neighbors who took care of everything while we were away. Most of all, I am so glad my parents felt good enough to stay for so long and truly enjoy the peace of nature that the cabin has to offer. It does wonders for the soul.

I Found God today being able to enjoy several days of peaceful nature.

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Cabin Buddies

Today we had a visit from a friend who is also a neighbor at the cabin. He told the story of how he came to purchase his plot of land, which I had never heard. He and his family was living on the east coast. A friend of his had bought some property and was building a house on it. One summer, he and his family were on vacation, traveling in the vicinity and happened by the area without realizing it. They stopped and talked to a representative who knew their friend and took them by the house that was under construction. Of course, he offered to show them some plots that were available. He left them with a map and plans to connect the next day. That evening, he and his wife looked over the map and saw one plot of land that would interest them. But, they figured it would be sold and they would be off the hook. The next day, they went touring with the sales rep. Come to find out, the piece of land they were looking at was not sold and was exactly what they were looking for. So, having not at all been prepared to purchase a piece of land, that is exactly what they did. My parents bought their lot a couple of years later. Their friend was in the process of building his home at that time. He has been a good friend for all these 40 some years. I love how God places people in our lives.

I Found God today in God’s providence.

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Simple Reminder

A friend of mine shared a sign that she saw posted at a local farm. It said, “Do the best that you can in the place where you are and be kind.” Helen Nearing. My son told me the other day that the simplest explanations and answers are typically the correct ones. I thought this was a perfect example.

I Found God today in a simple reminder.

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Day of Rest

It was a cool, cloudy, and eventually rainy day today. My dad decided from the morning that this would truly be a day of rest. He woke up to take his morning pill, then went right back to sleep. My mom woke him a couple of times after that for breakfast and he just didn’t want to get up, so he kept right on sleeping. I figured he was responsive, so we just let him be until he finally roused himself after 11:00. That set the tone for the day. My mom took several naps. I spent a lot of time enjoying the outdoor scenery until it was too wet to do so and napped myself. We watched the clouds, watched the rain, and watched the fog roll in and out. We did watch Mass and enjoyed our family Zoom meeting. But we enjoyed the real day of rest most of all.

I Found God today in a real day of rest.

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Ghost Town

Today we took a drive to one of our favorite little towns. It was considered a “ghost town” years ago. Then the gambling moved in and it has been bustling ever since. However, with the pandemic in full force, it was pretty quiet. Several businesses have closed, many buildings were empty. A few casinos had their doors open with signs posted directing which way to enter and the social distancing rules. There was a Corvair car show happening with about 25 beautiful old vehicles, so there were some people milling about. We spotted the sheriff and his wife wearing 1800’s attire. The steam train was running and invited people in for a ride – as long as masks were worn. A great melding of the old with the new I suppose. In any case, it was nice to take a drive and see what was going on in the old town.

I Found God today taking a drive and getting a new perspective.

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Rosary Together

When I was a child, I can remember that when the family would take a road trip, we would begin by saying the rosary. I probably didn’t appreciate it at the time, but it was meaningful enough for me to do the same as an adult. Today when my parents and I got in the car, my mom got out the rosary and we started praying. She leads the prayers, my dad reads the mysteries, and he and I respond to the prayers. It is comforting and enjoyable among the craziness that can be in the city and on the highways. And we are always grateful when we reach our destination safely.

I Found God today praying with my parents.

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Earworms

My dad often comes to breakfast with a song in his head from many, many years ago in his youth. Today, one popped into my head that I learned as a child. It seemed to come out of nowhere. It was, “Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy, a kid’ll eat ivy too wouldn’t you?” I told my parents about it and my mom said she thinks of that song often. Strange. My dad had Mary Poppins, “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” running through his head. It was just a funny conversation that made us laugh.

I Found God today in laughter.

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Don’t Get Distracted

Tonight my prayer group and I read and discussed the Gospel coming up for this Sunday. Part of the scripture was a parable about a person who finds a treasure (Kingdom of God) and sells everything he has to buy the field where the treasure lies. I thought that in my own life, I certainly have encountered the Kingdom of God. But I’m not so sure I have been willing to “sell everything” for it. I have probably been in the process, perhaps even made it to the bank and received the money to purchase the field. But I also feel I am easily distracted. Something else “better” may catch my eye and I can end up going down a different path instead of going straight back to where the treasure is. I guess it is all a work in progress. The discussion did help me to recommit to trying to stay on course and not get distracted.

I Found God today realizing how I need to try to stay focused on the mission at hand.

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Generous Friend

My friend stopped by this afternoon to deliver my recent order. She makes good quality face masks that include the N95 material and offers a variety of fabrics. I have been trying to make sure my friends and family have enough to use on a regular basis. When she started out months ago, she just wanted to make sure that her family and friends were “covered” and tried to refuse payment. She gave in and realized her handiwork was really pretty valuable. Since then, she has been busy making the masks for probably hundreds of people. She told me a couple of stories about people who were desperate for the mandatory face masks in various situations, such as teachers and students. Besides earning some much needed cash for herself, she has been giving away the masks to those who are struggling. She is indeed a very generous person.

I Found God today in my generous friend.