I had quite a surprise this morning when I arrived at the hospital. My dad was sitting up awake and eating breakfast. He smiled when he saw me and said he was just thinking about me and wondering where I was. It was a huge improvement from yesterday. He will still have a recovery ahead of him. But he told me, “I will be ok.” And I think he will.
I Found God today in a huge improvement in my dad.
When I got to the hospital this morning, I found my dad sleeping…and sleeping and sleeping. He was having a difficult time waking up and staying awake. The doctors are doing more testing to see if there’s anything else going on. In the afternoon, my mom and I went home to nap. My sister stayed at the hospital and called to report that my dad actually woke up for a while, ate a little, and talked a little. When my mom and I went back to the hospital, my dad was back asleep. Just as we were planning on leaving, the nurse was able to wake him again. He wasn’t completely coherant, but was happy to have my mom fed him some applesauce. When he fell asleep again, we were able to leave on a positive note.
I Found God today able to leave the hospital somewhat encouraged.
Thanking God my sister is here! During the night – 1:00 am – she heard a thud and woke me up. We went upstairs and found dad on the bedroom floor. He said he felt weak, his legs gave way, and he collapsed. He couldn’t get back up. We called 911 and got him to the hospital where they found a brain bleed. He was losing some strength on the left side of his body, but conscious, aware, and answering all the questions. They started giving him the appropriate medication right away. During the day he was visited by all kinds of specialists. His favorite doctor came by and encouraged him even though he didn’t need to be there. A Eucharistic minister also came by. I was able to receive Communion and we prayed for my dad while he slept. All in all he is doing pretty good. We are grateful for a quick diagnosis, speedy treatment, caring professionals, and the ability to receive Jesus and know that He is present here.
I Found God today in many blessings during a difficult day.
One of the things they reiterate in all my caregiving lessons is how important it is to take care of yourself so you have the energy and stamina to care for your loved ones. Today my sister came to stay the weekend. So this afternoon, I went to the gym and learned a new workout program, got a massage, and did some shopping. It was wonderful to have a few hours to myself while knowing my parents were in good hands.
I Found God today taking a few hours for myself.
This morning after my aqua aerobics class, I sat in the hot tub for a few minutes. When I arrived, a couple of other people were already there. One of the men was talking about a Santa Claus Convention. He wasn’t a participant of the convention itself, but was able to see some of it in action. He said the men there were so happy and joyful. When it came time for lunch, they all made sure they stopped at the right time because clearly they were not going to skip a meal. As the man recounted his experience, he chuckled himself. That led to a full on guffaw. Everyone there was laughing because he was laughing. He had a contagious positive attitude.
I Found God today in contagious happiness.
Today I finished reading Fulton Sheen’s “Life of Christ” for my Bible class. It ended predictably with the Ascension. Sheen talked about Christ’s glorified Body that He promised would continue on, which is the Church. Of course, I had heard this before and it had made sense. However, when I read Fulton Sheen’s words of explanation, I started to have a much deeper understanding. As a Baptized person, I am already a part of the Body of Christ. All other Baptized believers – living and deceased – are also a part of the same Body. I belong to a family – a world – much bigger than what I can see or participate in on this earth. And they are all on my side – rooting for me, praying for me. It is more than I can comprehend, but it suddenly became clearer to me and is worth spending time contemplating.
I Found God today realizing the extent of the Body of Christ that I am a part of.
Today I read a quote from St. Mother Teresa that really caused me to contemplate:
“Love is full of paradoxes. I have found that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
I Found God today in a new way of thinking about love.
My mom, her friend and I went to lunch today. When we arrived, we noticed that it seemed to be “ladies day”. We were seated by the drink machine so we saw pretty much everyone who came in. There was one man in the whole place and a steady stream of women kept coming – old, young, teens, and kids. Next to us was a mom with her daughter. My mom noticed that the little girl had one brown eye and one blue eye. When it was time for them to leave, the little girl went back and forth up the aisle and back to mom as we watched. I told the mom how cute her little girl was, and how tiny she was. The mom said that she was 4 years old which was hard to believe as she resembled a 2 year old. She saw my surprise and explained that the little girl was born with only half a heart and so she was doing pretty good. She said she was her miracle baby. We agreed that she was quite a blessing indeed.
I Found God today in a miracle baby.
My mom participated in an exercise class at the YMCA today. I decided to sit out in the hall and continue reading. The hall also connected to 2 rooms of child care for those moms who were using the facility. During my time there, several moms came and picked up their children. All of them were upbeat, energetic, and happy as they gathered up the kids. They had conversations with the children about what to eat for lunch, what kind of snack they wanted, and what art project they had made. It was just a joyful experience.
I Found God today watching happy moms with happy kids.
I am not a very good reader. I can easily get distracted, fall asleep, or get uncomfortable ending up with a neck or back ache. But since I have been taking my Bible class, I need to read a lot. I do enjoy what I am reading as I delve deeper into scripture and have been getting better about it. For Christmas, my son got me a book rest. I used it today and read for a couple of hours this afternoon. It was very comfortable and made it even more of a joy to sit and read for a while.
I Found God today being able to read comfortably for a while.
