I watched a reflection today from Dynamic Catholic that included a story about how one person chose to serve a stranger in jail due to a chance phone call. It was an interesting and powerful story, so I would like to share it here. The reflection is first followed by the story.
I Found God today in a witness of powerful service.
I took my mom to her exercise class today and was reminded of her amazing accomplishment at Monday’s class. For one of the activities, there was a target drawn on the giant mirror and the participants threw the large suction cup darts. My mom threw one with her right hand and it was far off. She is actually left handed, so she switched hands. The first one she threw landed in the bulls-eye area. She was right on target after that. So much so, that she got the highest score of the whole class. Everyone was very proud of her and made a big fuss. She was the big winner.
I Found God today in my mom’s accomplishment.
I have been doing my best to do Lent well. I always have good intentions at the beginning and am determined to pray and fast without fail. Unfortunately, I have not been as perfect as my intentions would have me to be. A particular meditation video that I watched this morning really hit my heart. It said to take heart and not give up. Even if you have not been perfect and have felt like you have “failed”, just start again. Lent is about humility. I think I have done better at that anyways. Instead of throwing in the towel when I haven’t been exactly on track, I have been able to start again the next day. For me, it’s better to take one day at a time. The words from the meditation were very helpful and encouraging.
I Found God today in encouraging words not to give up.
Tonight in my Bible class, we studied the fall of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel as told in the second book of Kings. It was a ruthless story of conquest, murder, and idolatry. The bottom line is that when the people followed God, He took care of them. But when they blatantly turned away from Him, refusing to obey, and leading lives of abomination, they eventually were captured and exiled from their land. However, in the midst of this, there were kings who repented of their evil ways and God blessed them. We looked back in Deuteronomy chapter 30 in which God gave Israel a choice – life or death. Life and blessings are promised to those who obey God. Israel, like us, always have the choice. And God will always follow through. That is very good news.
I Found God today in the promises He keeps.
Today in church, a woman whom I had met before and her young son came and sat at the end of our row. After I received Communion, I headed back to my seat. The woman was behind me, but her son had already made his way back into the row. He was kneeling with his hands clasped, eyes closed, and head bowed in prayer. Unfortunately, I was unable to get by him to get back to my seat, but I didn’t want to disturb him. His mom caught up to me and I told her he looked like a little angel and I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt. She smiled and said that he was actually doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. She whispered his name. He opened his eyes and sat back so his mom and I could get back to our seats. Once we passed, he resumed his posture and went right back into prayer. It was a precious sight.
I Found God today in an angelic boy.
A couple of years ago, my sisters and I went on a hike. A couple of years before that, my sister had broken her leg. This hike was the first one she had done and promised to be a good test. She did pretty good, but was very careful on the more precarious spots of the trail. At one point we reached a boulder bridge to cross the stream. They were like giant stepping stones positioned just far apart enough for a decent jump. Luckily, my sister was able to rely on the help of some very kind strangers to help her across. Today, we went back on that same hike. Early on, my sister was worried about the boulder bridge. I assured her that if she didn’t feel that she could make it, we would just turn around and go back the same way. On the trail, we came across some icy patches where the snow had not melted yet. She did great. She even jumped down some of the higher places. Then we arrived at the boulder bridge. My sister wasn’t sure about trying it and gave it some thought. There were people struggling across, others contemplating it, and still others who simply turned around. The hardest part looked like getting on the first rock and making the first jump. One man coming from the other direction came over the first rock kind of in a climbing stance. I tried it to position myself at the end of the rock so I would be balanced and ready for the first jump. I showed my sister how I did it and had faith that she could too. I made the jump to the second rock. My sister was ready to try. She used the same technique and got herself positioned. I was ready to try to help stabilize her after the jump, even though I was pretty sure we would both end up in the water. In any case, she did it beautifully. The rest of the boulder bridge was easy enough after that. Once we reached the other side, we celebrated. My sister felt very accomplished and I felt very proud of her as well for facing her fears and doing it well. She literally crossed that bridge when she came to it.
I Found God today as my sister conquered a fear.
I was happy to make it to the Stations of the Cross at the church tonight. It was led by the children’s choir made up of youth from Kindergarten to high school age. They were very well spoken as they described the stations and the short song for each one was lovely. A commentary that stuck with me was at the ninth station where Jesus falls for the third time. The reading said that gravity keeps things down and without it, we would be spinning out of control. When Jesus fell, He kept getting back up against the odds. Not only that, but when He died, He rose again completely defying gravity and the rules of nature to show us that there is much more to this life, this earth, than what we can see. Without Jesus, we will be spinning out of control. To me, it was enlightening.
I Found God today as He broke the rules of nature to show us there is more.
Yesterday I talked with a friend who lost a very precious rosary. I told her the story of when my son lost his rosary. He was about 9 years old and had brought it to school. He went through every pocket in his backpack and again when we got home. It was not to be found. So, we said a prayer to St. Anthony. The next morning he told me he had a dream and St. Anthony was in it. I asked what he looked like. He said he couldn’t really say for sure, but he knew it was St. Anthony. I asked what he was doing. My son said he was pointing to a certain pocket in his backpack. I asked if he looked there yet. He had not. I watched as he dug in the pocket and pulled out the rosary. We both burst into tears and thanked St. Anthony profusely. Last night, my friend also prayed to St. Anthony. Today, she found the rosary in a pocket of a pair of pants. She had the same reaction.
I Found God today in answered prayers to St. Anthony.
A friend told me today that she used to visit specific people in nursing homes – typically those who had no family or friends. When she was visiting one woman in particular, the woman said she was thinking of writing a diary, but there wouldn’t be anyone to read it. My friend said she would read it. After some time and not hearing about it again, the woman passed away. When my friend went to her funeral, the presider of the service said he had something for her. Yes, it was the diary. The gentleman used it to speak of the woman at the funeral, then gave it to my friend. She said she really enjoyed reading it and getting to know the beautiful life story of the woman who seemed to have no one. She kept the diary as it is still very meaningful to her.
I Found God today in a woman who shared her life with another.
Today my parents both had a normal follow up doctor’s appointment at the cardiologist. The nurse who did all the paperwork and checking in spent some time with us on a completely unrelated topic. My dad has a yet to be diagnosed condition and the woman told us all about her husband who had a similar disease. She gave us her rendition of what happened when and who was helpful in their situation. Yesterday, at a different appointment, the doctor told us about some of his experiences. Listening to the opinions and ideas of other people is not only interesting and helpful, it made me realize that people face difficulties all the time in all different ways. And when they have made it through to the other side, they have valuable insight to share with others.
I Found God today in valuable insight.
