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Help at the Nursery

Posted by eph21920 on June 8, 2019 in Children, Creation, Generosity, Happiness, Shopping, Stranger

We seemed to finally have a string of nice weather, so today my mom and I decided to go to the plant nursery. I think half the city decided to do the same thing as the place was packed with people looking for flowers, seedlings, vegetable starters, and everything a person needs to garden. Luckily my mom and I were able to make our way through the narrow, stony aisles in the greenhouse. My mom found the perfect geranium, which she gets every year. I got a variety of flowers to put in the pots outside near the front stairs. We made our way to check out and found a very long line. I spotted a table with some chairs and told my mom she could sit there while I waited in the line. Before my mom could head over, the man at the end of the line asked his daughter to go and get the chair. She brought it over and the man set it in a good spot for my mom to take a rest. I took my place behind him. I chatted a bit with the man and his daughter and after a couple of minutes, he took the box I was holding with all the plants. He carried them until we reached the check out counter. It is so nice when people try to make accommodations for my mom and a pleasant surprise when someone offers to help me too.

I Found God today in a very thoughtful and helpful man.

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Surprise Wedding Party

Posted by eph21920 on June 7, 2019 in Food, Friends, Fun, Generosity, Marriage, New

I love the water aerobics class that I go to. It is a great workout. But also the people are super nice and thoughtful. One of the young lifeguards got married recently but did not have a big ceremony, or a shower, or a party of any kind. My aerobics instructor suggested having a party for them and we all agreed it was a great idea. She talked to the new groom and set it up for him to come and really surprise the young woman. She wanted to make it a special time for them. We had the party this morning after our class. Everyone pitched in with decorations, food, a cake, cards and gifts, and wedding favors. My mom let us borrow her one of a kind silver punch bowl to make it even a little more fancy. The young couple have been having a string of bad things happening to them, so the party was timely. They were so cute as they cut the cake and fed it to each other. The new bride was very surprised to see her husband there. Both of them were so appreciative.

I Found God today in thoughtful people and appreciative newly weds.

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Music Soothes the Soul

Posted by eph21920 on June 5, 2019 in Answer, Dog, Family, Healing, Music

My brother’s dog is terrified of thunder. Unfortunately, we have been getting thunderstorms every afternoon recently. Today she came down in my room with me and shivered as I tried to soothe her. I put on some relaxing classical music which seemed to help. After a while, my brother tried to get her to take a walk which she would have none of. Everyone was upstairs by this time and my mother took over trying to calm the poor terrified dog. She said she wished there was something she could do to help. I told her about the music, so she headed to the piano. After a song or two, the shaking dog started to calm down. Then she went over close to the piano and laid down, ready to listen to the rest of her concert. My mother obliged. By the time my mom was played out, the dog was almost back to normal. The music did in fact soothe the beast.

In Found God today as music soothed the terrified dog.

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Loving Posture

Posted by eph21920 on June 4, 2019 in Connected, Life, Love, Relationship, Stranger

Today in the grocery store, I stopped in the card aisle. There was a woman and a young man there too. I heard them chat a bit and when they turned around, I realized the young man had Down’s Syndrome. They made their choice and left the aisle. I found the perfect card and made my way down the main aisle of the store. The young man and woman – I presume his mother – were walking side by side just a bit in front of me. While continuing to walk, the woman put her hand out and the young man took it without missing a beat. Now they were walking side by side and hand in hand. Clearly this was a natural posture for them. Even so, I thought it was beautiful.

I Found God today in a loving posture.

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Good Friendships

Posted by eph21920 on June 3, 2019 in Family, Friends, Fun, Grateful, Life

My son was on a trip the past week and was the best man at his friend’s wedding. He and the groom met online as they were choosing roommates for their first year in college. They quickly became good friends and ended up rooming together for the full 5 years of their college career. I picked my son up from the airport today and he told me all about the event. He said the best part was seeing his college crew. They decided that they all need to get together once a year and started making plans. I was glad for him and the blessing of the friendships he had.

I Found God today in the blessing of good friendships.

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Appreciating Help

Posted by eph21920 on June 2, 2019 in Family, Grateful

My dad spent several days at the cabin with my brother. They worked on and completed several projects. On the way home today, my dad talked about how much he loved being there. He felt good physically. He got a lot done. He especially enjoyed being with and having the help of my brother. I really appreciate him as well.

I Found God today appreciating my brother.

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In the Common

Posted by eph21920 on June 1, 2019 in Answer, Family

My mom, dad, brother, and I were relaxing at the cabin tonight talking about how we found God. Of course, by just being at the cabin surrounded by nature it is easy to see and feel God’s presence. As we reflected on our busy day, we discussed how we did a lot of cleaning. Everyone did their share of straightening up, dusting, vacuuming and such. Then people took turns washing and showering. My brother pointed out that everything and everyone was a lot cleaner than the day before. He reminded us of the quote that “Cleanliness is next to Godliness,” so we must be on the right track. He also said that sometimes you just find God in the common things. So true.

I Found God today in the common.

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Unique Marvel

Posted by eph21920 on May 31, 2019 in Answer, Children, Connected, Creation, Faith, Life, Mary, Plan

Tonight, my mom read a quote from Pablo Casals. It read in part, ” . . . You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. . . . And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel?”  Also, today in the Church we celebrate the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. In the reflection by Bishop Robert Barron, he talked about how both Elizabeth and Mary had realized the marvel of not only themselves, but that of their situation. Though they did not know at the time how everything would play out, they discovered their role in the “theo-drama” – God’s plan for their lives in the world. I thought the two reflections connected beautifully.

I Found God today in a reminder of the uniqueness of each person as a being and as a role in the world.

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Saw the President, Sort of

Posted by eph21920 on May 30, 2019 in Fun, Opportunity

This morning, my mom and I watched the Air Force Academy graduation on the local news station. I thought President Trump’s speech was inspiring and was impressed at how personal he made it. We planned to make a trip up to the mountains this afternoon and had lunch at the park hoping to catch a glimpse of the Thunderbirds. But, we were evidently too early and knew the graduation was running behind schedule. We decided not to wait and set off for the hills. It wasn’t too long before we came to a traffic jam. It was then that we realized our timing was off. They were starting to close down the highway for the President to return to his airplane. I decided to head downtown hoping to cut across further down the line. At every intersection that we came too, the cars were lined up and not moving. We made our way down a side street that no one else had found. My mom noted that we had the road to ourselves and wondered what that meant. As we crossed some railroad tracks, I figured it meant we shouldn’t be there either. The road ended at a highway on ramp. There were stopped vehicles everywhere. But as we entered the intersection, a police officer waved us on up to the highway. I obeyed and found myself with only about 4 other cars on the highway. It was surreal, like out of a movie. We all drove slowly as if to say, “Should we be here?” People tried to exit, but they were all backed up as well. I just kept driving. On the other side of the highway, a police motorcycle sped past. Then another, then another. I told my mom that we were going to see the President. Sure enough, after a few more motorcycles, the President’s motorcade appeared, including the long black limousine with the American flags waving in the wind. “There he is! There he is!” I squealed with excitement. He could have been in any of the 20 or so cars that drove past, but we saw them all. So, we did see the president . . . sort of. Our timing ended up to be perfect. It was a pretty exciting and adventurous afternoon.

I Found God today in an exciting afternoon.

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Mothers’ Wisdom

Posted by eph21920 on May 29, 2019 in Connected, Faith, Family, Knowledge

Today my mom got out her “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book. The first entry she read was from St. Teresa of Calcutta. It read in part,

“… Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”

I said she was a very smart woman. My mom said for years people have asked her what it takes to be married to the same person for such a long time. She always answers, “Be kind.” She got teary eyed as she remarked that she must have been on the right track all along. I told my mom that she is also a very smart woman.

I Found God today in the wisdom of 2 beautiful mothers.

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