Today was my nephew’s birthday. He, my sister, and my son came over for dinner. We laughed so hard that I felt I had done hundreds of sit-ups. The best part was that we laughed about nothing – and everything. It felt great.
I Found God today in extreme laughter.
A friend of mine received his first chemotherapy treatment a couple days ago. I visited with him tonight and was pleasantly surprised to see how well he was feeling. He looked good and was energetic. He even played a few rounds of golf with his son this morning. I had shared a bottle of Lourdes water with him. He has been blessing himself with it and is sure it is helping. I’m sure too.
I Found God today as my friend is responding well to chemotherapy so far.
My dad was not home tonight and I had a prayer group to attend, so my son came over to be with my mom, or “grandma sit”. My mom babysat for him when he was a toddler and even brought him to his first music lessons at that age. My son continued to pursue music and still sings, plays the keyboard and assorted guitars. When I got home, they said they had to show me what they did while I was away. Then they both sat at the piano. They played “The Entertainer” as a duet. My mom said that she had been thinking all afternoon that they had never played a duet together and that is what they should do when he came over. It warmed my heart.
I Found God today in my mom and son’s duet.
Today we went to lunch at an Italian restaurant to celebrate my parent’s friend’s 88th birthday. She is so sweet and very soft spoken. The waitress was so considerate, helpful, and attentive. She explained everything on the menu and helped the woman pick out the best dish for her. When we finished our lunch, she packed up the leftover box for the woman. Then she brought out and served a beautiful and delicious birthday treat. Going out to eat with my older people is always hit or miss. Will they be comfortable, able to hear one another and enjoy the menu? But mostly, how will they be treated? The waitress at the restaurant today was the perfect balance of being considerate and helpful while being respectful.
I Found God today in a considerate and respectful waitress.
Today in my mom’s Parkinson’s exercise class, there were two new college students who will be working with them. They introduced themselves and asked the participants to do the same. Some talked about what they “used” to do. There were teachers, organization volunteers, and one who loved doing ballroom dancing. It was difficult to imagine since they now struggle just to move, speak, and smile. But they also talked about how much they loved coming to the class. They enjoyed not just the much needed exercise, but they appreciated the community they found in one another. Listening to them speak helped me to remember not to judge and to see the value in each person.
I Found God today in the courage of the Parkinson’s people.
Today is Pentecost. In church, the priest talked about how the Holy Spirit can help any and all people who ask. He compared it to the sun. When I go outside, I love the warm sun on my face. When my mom and I walk and the sun is shining, she always comments on how wonderful it feels. We enjoy the warmth on a very personal level. At the same time, we all reap the benefits of the sun collectively through the life it brings to our world. And as the sun shares it’s elements with us, it does not detract from it’s essence. So it is with the Holy Spirit. On a very personal and individual level, we have the ability to enjoy the fruits of the Holy Spirit such as kindness and patience, if we only ask. At the same time, the world reaps the benefits of those who share the goodness by allowing the Holy Spirit to work through them. And as the Spirit shares itself with us, it does not dwindle or decrease. I thought it was a beautiful analogy.
I Found God today in a beautiful analogy of the Holy Spirit.
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.
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.
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.
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.
