Today is the Feast of St. Therese – the “Little Flower”. I read a quote from her that included the words, ” . . . this road is the surrender of the little child who sleeps without fear in its Father’s arms.” That sounded very peaceful to me. Later in the evening, I went to my Bible class. We started in prayer and meditation. I had the image from the quote in my mind. It was very peaceful.
I Found God today in His peace.
I like going for walks around the cabin in the mountains. While we were there, we got together with some of my parents’ friends. One of them said that a while ago he had seen footprints of a mountain lion in his driveway. He said I was pretty brave to be hiking around there. I told him I have tried not to let my life be driven by fear in all different aspects. I do my best to be prepared and try not to do stupid things, but I have learned that fear can really hold me back. Today I saw a quote “Let go of everything that has been holding you back. Push fear out of the way and claim the peace, joy, and fulfillment that are yours. Now is the time.” by Danielle Bean from You’re Worth It. That’s what I was talking about.
I Found God today in a reminder not to be afraid.
Today we had nothing scheduled, nothing planned, and enjoyed the day at the cabin. It was beautiful as the trees are showing their Fall colors. I spent a lot of time meandering through the quiet woods taking pictures of trees, birds, and sky. It was relaxing, peaceful, and contemplative.
I Found God today enjoying a calm, beautiful day.
Many years ago, a bee flew in my mom’s shirt and stung her. She had a nasty reaction. She already didn’t like them, but now she’s terrified of them. My mom and I went for a walk today and there was a bee that wouldn’t leave us alone. My mom was so scared that she actually ran. I had to chase her and make her stop so she wouldn’t fall down. I tried shooing the bee away from her, then it came to me. I took off the hat I was wearing and started flinging it around. I hit the bee and it fell to ground where I stomped on it. My mom was safe and we could finish our walk. I felt like the great bee killer and was proud of myself for protecting my mom.
I Found God today being brave to protect my mom.
Today we made an unexpected trip to the hospital as my mom was having pains. They did the full work up and found nothing, which was good news. So, of course, I’m very grateful for that. We attributed it to the intense exercise class she had yesterday. In the hospital, they started a pic line as usual. One nurse was going to get it ready, when we all had to leave the room for an x-ray. When she returned, she had a student nurse with her. My first thought was of a conversation I had with a friend yesterday. She had a student help with her colonoscopy and was in pain during part of the procedure. Inside I was in turmoil, not wanting anyone to hurt my mom. But, I said a prayer and let it go as they were already beginning the process. The nurse doing the training walked the student through the whole thing, which took much longer than normal. My mom did bleed a little, but when all was said and done, the trainee seemed to do a pretty good job, getting the line in the right place the first time. I asked my mom how she felt about it. She said she was apprehensive at first, but figured the student needed to learn. I checked the area tonight and instead of the giant bruise I was expecting, there was just a small red mark. We were all very happy about that and grateful for the skill of the new nurse.
I Found God today in good results and a skilled student.
I was talking with a group of people tonight about “feeling” God or the Holy Spirit. One man said that he didn’t ever “feel” God in his life. He knew about God. He is a faithful church goer and reads the Bible. He is very involved in the church and believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. He does his best to be a good man. It is clear by his actions and the wisdom he has that God certainly is a part of him. But he has never “felt” God’s presence. As the conversation went on, people explained how they experienced God in their lives. Some people had a feeling of God, some had more knowledge, but it was different for each. We concluded that whether you have an intense awareness of the presence of God, or if you have a more knowledge of Him, it is imperative to trust in Him and have faith. We are all different people and have different experiences. But God isn’t different. He doesn’t change. He does work in the lives of people who trust in His love, care, and plan for our lives.
I Found God today in the different ways people experience Him.
My parents had a sofa for a long time that wasn’t really comfortable for anyone. They had talked on and off about replacing it, but weren’t exactly sure what they wanted. Finally a few weeks ago, they decided on a Lazy Boy that fit them both just right. It was delivered yesterday. Tonight after dinner, we put a movie on and all got comfortable. For the first time ever – well, since I have been living with them anyways – nobody moved during the entire 2 hour show. Both sides of the sofa have their own recliner with a remote control for the motorized head and foot rests. Both my mom and dad said they moved their position slightly from time to time, but they were also amazed that they were able to go through the whole movie. I enjoyed seeing them so relaxed and comfortable. Oh – and the movie we watched was, “The King’s Speech”. I highly recommend it.
I Found God today seeing my parents in great comfort.
A few weeks ago, I began attending a Bible class and we started at the beginning in the book of Genesis. Tonight in my small group, we discussed the basic human nature of good and evil, faith and sin. One person noticed that God promises redemption from the beginning and gives us (people) the opportunity to choose to follow Him or not. But even when we have faith, we are so easily distracted, forget God’s goodness, and even neglect speaking with Him in prayer. Then we find ourselves out of sorts and/or unhappy. Another person agreed and said that when they forget to pray or ask God for help when needed, things don’t go so well. But when they remember and go back to Him, they have renewed faith and joy. I was encouraged to hear this, as I often too forget God’s goodness and that He created me – each person – out of His love, for love, to be loved. It was a great reminder to try to stay on track.
I Found God today in a better understanding of the struggle each of us face with good and evil and a reminder of the antidote, which is relationship with God.
Today in church, the priest talked about the evil of abortion and how it seems to be pushed upon us as a society in every arena. He also discussed how good can and will overcome evil as long as there are people willing to stand up and fight for it. This reminded me of a young woman who found that she was pregnant after her relationship with her boyfriend ended. She shared with me that she was pressured to get an abortion on all sides – not surprisingly from the ex-boyfriend, but also from her own friends and people who were close to her. But she knew that she could not take the life of her child and was strong in her resolve, even though she realized how difficult it would be. She surrounded herself with people who supported her, loved her and her baby, and would help her to bring the new little child into the world. I was impressed and inspired by her courage and determination.
I Found God today in the determination of a courageous young woman.
Last night just as I was getting into bed, I heard a strange noise. It sounded like an animal or bird of some kind. I walked around my room and decided it was coming from outside. I put on my slippers, threw a blanket around my shoulders, and went upstairs. I walked around up there quietly still listening. The sound was definitely coming from outside the front door. As I opened it slowly and quietly, the sound became much more distinct. Then I saw the huge shape in the top of the large pine tree. It was an owl lit by the moonlight. It was an awesome sight and I watched for quite a while as it continued hooting. I wondered why there weren’t other people out looking as I thought it was pretty loud. At one point, I thought I would try to get a picture and went in to get my camera. When I went back out, the owl spread it’s wings and flew to the next tree. I aimed and was surprised that I could actually find the owl with the light the camera uses to pinpoint the subject. I did that a couple of times and clicked the shutter, even though it was still too dark. This clearly annoyed the owl as it started screeching. That kind of scared me and I went in. I looked it up online and listened to the recorded calls. I had definitely seen a great horned owl. As I crawled into bed, I could still hear the hooting, but it did was no longer screeching. I was glad I went in and wondered if it would come back again.
I Found God today in an exciting encounter with an owl.
Still Finding God 