The daily reflection from Dynamic Catholic that I read this morning really struck me and I tried to think of it often during the day:
“Feed your faith and your fear will starve to death.”
I Found God today in a great thought that struck my heart.
Sharing Winnings
When we are at the cabin on weekends, we go to church in the nearby town, which also happens to be a gaming town. Then we go to lunch and pull a few slots. My dad has told the priest in the past that whatever he wins, he will give 10% to the church. He always follows through. This past Sunday, we heard a different priest speak of using the blessings we have to help and bless others. He was also asking for monetary donations for a particular outreach ministry. Evidently, during Mass, my dad had the thought that if he was to win, he would give all of it to the ministry. After church, we went to lunch and pulled a few slots as usual. My dad doubled his money. It was later in the car that he told us of the promise he made. Today he got out the envelope we picked up about the ministry and made out the check. Even though it said postage was not needed, he added a stamp (with a picture of Fr. Theodore Hesburgh on it) so the ministry wouldn’t have to pay the postage. I loved his sentiment, his commitment to his promise, and his generosity.
I Found God today in my faithful dad.
Overdue Swing
A friend of mine who was adopted as an infant found and was reunited with his biological mother last year. It was such an emotional story. This year, she came to visit him and he shared many of the pictures. One of them was of him on an oversized swing with his mother standing behind. the caption read, ” . . . getting a long overdue push on a swing by his mom.” My heart melted.
I Found God today in a beautiful shared moment.
Not a Salesman
Today my mom and I stopped by the store after her exercise class. She was pretty tired and didn’t want to walk around too much, but there were a couple of things we needed to pick up. While we were there, we looked at the appliances to make smoothies. My mom has had a blender for 60 years. It has been going strong, but is finally to the point where it needs replacing. We stood there looking at the choices and trying to decide when a man came up and told us about one he had purchased a year ago. He gave us the details about how it has worked for him – grinding up kale, apple peels, and even nuts. He said he had many appliances and this was his favorite. My mom and I thought he should have been a salesman, but he wasn’t. He was just a customer who was excited about the product and came over to help. We took his advice and purchased the one he described. I made smoothies with it this afternoon and it worked great. My mom and I were very happy that the man came on over to us. We didn’t have to take too much time trying to figure out which would be the best appliance for us and he was right.
I Found God today in a very helpful man.
Blessings Reminder
At church today there was a visiting priest from a mission called Cross Catholic Outreach. He talked about the plight of many different people in many different parts of the world and how the ministry helps them. His plea for support went right along with the Gospel of the day, which was the story of the boy who came forward with a meager portion of food that managed to feed a huge crowd of people. The priest explained that God will bless what we faithfully give and share. There were quite a few things he said that really touched my heart. One was that God lives in our eyes – as in when we look at someone, it really is possible to see God in them. Another was that the best thing we can do for one another is to encourage them; to see and recognize their goodness and gifts and to let them know that. In our country of over abundance, we surely can find a way to share what we have with others. And at the very least, we can pull out the positive in others by encouraging them.
I Found God today in a reminder of my blessings.
Generous Friend
My dad has been having a particular problem with a patch of siding that needs to be replaced at the cabin and has not been sure how to go about it. Today a friend who built his own log cabin came over and took a look at it. Not only did he have an idea of how to do the project, but he also offered to help. That took a load off my dad’s mind and he looks forward to getting it taken care of.
I Found God today in a good friend offering his help.
Bountiful Birds
When we get to the cabin, we always fill up the bird feeders and put them out right away. But the last couple of times, we haven’t had any birds come visit. We have really missed them and wondered why they haven’t been around. Yesterday evening, though, we saw a flock of wild turkeys – 3 adults and about 10 chicks – parade through the area and right up the driveway. My mom wondered if they would return today, and sure enough at just about the same time, they showed up. Each time, when we have gone outside to watch them, the largest of the group comes over to us rather quickly. I don’t know if he/she is asking for food, or is trying to intimidate us. Either way, it has been entertaining. My mom made up some hummingbird food so we were able to fill those feeders and put them out today too. There were several hummingbirds coming and going from the feeders most of the day. Then suddenly this evening, we heard a lot of commotion at the seed feeders. They were full of birds, at least 4 different species. There was even a mother grosbeak and her baby who was getting a double meal – one from the seeds on the deck rail, and one from mama. I really enjoyed watching all the different birds that visited today.
I Found God today enjoying watching the wild birds.
Great Unplanned Timing
We made a trip to the cabin today, watching the weather as thunderstorms were developing. We caught just the edge of a storm before we stopped for lunch and saw that it had already passed through. We were pretty happy about that, as it looked like a pretty bad one and we were in the area that got flooded a couple of days ago. After lunch, we continued on towards more dark clouds. On the way, we spotted the herd of elk that we hadn’t seen for quite some time. There must have been about 200 of them. We stopped and watched until they left the valley and went into the woods. Continuing on, it got darker and darker. When we reached the cabin, it was sprinkling a bit, but everything was wet, so the storm had already been through there too. There was still a lot of thunder and we watched as the clouds moved away. We didn’t try to time any of the drive. It all took place as it happened and somehow, we managed to see some awesome sights and miss driving in big storms.
I Found God today in a day of great timing that we didn’t plan.
Impressive Dentist
Like many people, I have a great deal of anxiety going to the dentist. Like all the joints in my body, my mouth is small, doesn’t move well, and my teeth are terribly crooked. I have always attributed that with the juvenile rheumatoid arthritis that I had. At my appointment today, I met a new a new dentist. While he was looking at my teeth, he asked if I got very sick when I was about 3 years old. Ironically – or maybe not – that is when I got the arthritis. I asked how he knew. He said he could tell my teeth didn’t develop properly at about that time. I was a little shocked and also impressed. No one has ever asked me that question before. It certainly gave me more confidence in him.
I Found God today being impressed by a dentist who knew my history.
Short One Hand
My mom has been having trouble recently with arthritis in her thumb. It hurts to put any kind of pressure on it and she has not played the piano in a couple of weeks. Yesterday she decided that she would just play with the right hand, so she practiced a duet that her and her friend play. Today her friend came over and they played the piece. It sounded pretty good – even with one hand missing. They talked about what other pieces they may be able to play, and other ways to work through them. I continue to be in awe of my mom’s perseverance. Instead of quitting the piano all together, she is figuring out how she can still enjoy playing.
I Found God today in my mom’s continued perseverance.
Still Finding God 