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Final Send Off

Posted by eph21920 on May 21, 2020 in Creation, Family, Opportunity

My amazing friend who makes wonderful face masks got some new material with wolves on it. She figured that my brother really should have a wolf face mask for Yellowstone, so she whipped one up for him. My brother went up to the cabin a couple days ago to finish his preparations and is leaving tomorrow. I knew he was heading into one of the towns for supplies today, and thought that delivering his mask was a great excuse for taking a drive into the mountains. My parents agreed. We headed west and in only about half an hour, were well away from the now bustling city. We met my brother at the park in the quiet town located between the house and the cabin. We delivered his mask, had lunch, gave his dog a few final pets, and headed home. It felt so good to get out of the house, take a nice relaxing drive, and enjoy the short visit with my brother.

I Found God today enjoying a drive to the mountains.

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Good Talk

Posted by eph21920 on May 20, 2020 in Baby, Connected, Friends, Grateful, Relationship

I have been missing the caregiver meetings that I used to attend. One of the organizations was able to coordinate an online session that I plugged into this afternoon. It was uplifting as always even with the challenges of a web meeting. Tonight I met with my prayer group on Zoom. It was so nice to be able to talk with both of these groups of people. It helps me not to feel so isolated.

I Found God today talking with others.

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Won’t Miss Out

Posted by eph21920 on May 19, 2020 in Answer, Connected, Family, Grateful, Home, Opportunity

My mom’s Parkinson’s exercise class has been available online for quite a few weeks now. They started with one video conferencing system that worked well for us, then switched to a different one. After that, we had nothing but troubles. We tried different pads and speakers and were about to give up on the whole thing. Then, we tried my dad’s “Big Mac”. It worked so much better. I was able to get my mom set up this morning and she was able to see, hear, and follow along with the session. Those running the class do a great job at the physical and cognitive exercises. And they offer much needed social interaction besides. They will be offering classes this way all summer. I am so happy we got this to work. I would hate for my mom to miss out on this necessary activity for so long.

I Found God today being able to get my mom set up with her class.

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And He’s Off

Posted by eph21920 on May 18, 2020 in Begin, Family, Generosity, Grateful, Home, Life, Opportunity, Travel

I woke up today, and he was gone – my brother that is. I told him I would be in denial until the day I woke up and he was gone. That was today. He was offered a job in Yellowstone at one of the gift shops that will be opening soon. He has been looking forward to it for months now. But, the coronavirus has changed everything. His job will look much different than what he initially anticipated and several facilities will not be open at all. Luckily, he has just about everything he needs in his trailer, being almost completely self-sufficient. Still, he had second thoughts. He arrived here a few weeks after my dad had the stroke to help out and has been here for months. During that time, he had plans for a trip along the coast of Mexico that he cancelled. He has been a tremendous help, not just with household chores, but as a friend and companion. And his dog added another source of entertainment. He knew that leaving, especially during the pandemic, would make things a little more challenging for me. We all talked about it and I appreciated his thoughtfulness. But no one wanted him to miss out on the opportunity if that’s what he wanted to do. He was still looking forward to the adventure. So, he decided to give it a go. He packed up his trailer yesterday and he and his dog went up to the cabin. After making his final preparations, he should be heading to Yellowstone in the next couple of days. We will miss him and pray for his safety. And I’m sure he’ll be back at some point.

I Found God today being grateful for my brother.

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Jesus Misses Us More

Posted by eph21920 on May 17, 2020 in Eucharist, Faith, Family, Home, Jesus, Struggles

My parents and I “went to church” this morning as we have for many months now – we went downstairs, turned on the TV and decided which Mass to participate with. Now we have a home altar that we set up during Lent that remains at the corner of the TV with a cloth, candle, cross, some prayers, and picture of Our Lady of Fatima. Today we tuned into our home parish. They started allowing a small number of people in the church to worship together. The first thing the priest did was to welcome the people “back home”, which was acknowledged with applause. He said that as much as we miss Jesus – particularly in the Eucharist – it is but a tiny drop compared to the ocean of how much Jesus misses us. When we first started watching Mass on TV, it was because my dad had a stroke and was not up to going out. I admit I would get comfortable in the recliner and put my feet up. But as time has gone on and it has become clear that the downstairs will remain our own personal chapel for a while, I have made some changes. I now make sure I am dressed appropriately, I stand, sit, and kneel at the proper times, sing, and respond. I do my best to fully participate. I do miss Jesus in the Eucharist. But I know He is still present in our lives and in our home. It is comforting to realize that He longs for me even more than I can for Him. And while we are unable to receive Holy Communion at this time, when we do, we will be ready, having prepared best we can.

I Found God today in a reminder of how Jesus longs for me.

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Lunch Parade

Posted by eph21920 on May 16, 2020 in Fun, Opportunity, Struggles

Today as we were eating our lunch, we saw a van drive by all decorated with balloons and streamers. Behind it was another one, and another, and another. I don’t know how many there were in total. Some had messages, but I couldn’t tell what they said. As the procession turned on to the next street, they started honking their horns. It was a drive-by celebration of some kind. The other day when I was out for a walk, I saw a similar party on another street. This house had a big sign that announced the 16th birthday of a girl who lived there and invited people to honk as they drove by. Of course, people obliged. We talked about how wonderful it is that people are thinking about one another and being creative in how to celebrate together. And we enjoyed the parade during lunch.

I Found God today seeing people celebrate others.

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For Entertainment Sake

Posted by eph21920 on May 15, 2020 in Family, Joy, Movie, Music

We have been following the shows that Andrew Lloyd Webber has provided every weekend. I found out this morning that “Cats” was to be shown this time. My mom, dad, brother, and I all have seen it before but were in agreement that we wanted to watch it, so we turned it on. At the end, we discussed the production. When I saw “Cats” for the first time, I kept expecting there to be some deep meaningful story or something. But it is literally just about cats and that’s ok. My dad, mom and brother all said the same thing. So watching it tonight, we knew what to expect and just enjoyed the music, dancing, singing, and costumes. And we all did enjoy it. There was no deep emotional heart-strings being pulled, no trying to figure out what was happening, nothing that was disturbing. It was simply entertainment for entertainment’s sake.

I Found God today having an evening of just good entertainment.

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One Last Item

Posted by eph21920 on May 14, 2020 in Answer, Food, Friends, Generosity, Grateful

My brother is preparing to leave in a couple of days for a summer job. So, I decided I better take the opportunity to restock the house with food and necessities before he goes. I went to a couple of stores, but there was just one item that I was unable to find. When I got back home and was unloading the car, my neighbor was outside so we chatted for a bit. As I unloaded my full trunk, he asked if I had a successful trip. He said he was heading out to do some shopping too and asked if there was anything I still needed. I told him I got everything but the one item. He was able to find it in his trip and left it on our porch. It was very timely and thoughtful of him and I was happy to have everything that I was needing.

I Found God today in a thoughtful neighbor.

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Uplifting Call

Posted by eph21920 on May 13, 2020 in Birthday, Family, Joy, Life

My parents have been talking about calling my aunt and were able to get in touch with her today. Her birthday is close to my dad’s and she also turned 90 years old. They had a nice conversation with her. After they hung up, they talked about how good it was to hear her voice and that she sounded just like always. My mom said it was very uplifting for her.

I Found God today in an uplifting phone conversation.

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Biblical Impact

Posted by eph21920 on May 12, 2020 in Answer, Bible, Faith, Grateful, Healing, Hope, Peace

This year of my Bible School has been pretty chaotic for me. When my dad had the stroke in January, I ended up missing 8 classes. I had stayed in contact with the teacher and she encouraged me not to give up. I made it back for 1 class, then the corona virus hit. Luckily, all the lectures have been made available online and our lesson book (besides the Bible) is very thorough. I have been slowly but steadily making up the work. Today I completed a lesson on the first 7 chapters of Hebrews. Part of the homework was to write a reflection of the impact that reading the Bible has made. One particular line from the reading is “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Heb 4:12. As I thought about this, indeed the scripture can cut me to the heart and bring to light my failures and short comings. At the same time, it brings me peace, hope, and encouragement. All of these bring healing, a desire to be a better person, and the grace to try to do so. Reading the Bible is a tremendous blessing and I do believe it is the living, active Word of God.

I Found God today in His Living Words.

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