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Compassionate Grandson

Posted by eph21920 on July 1, 2018 in Answer, Children, Family, Love

I received a text early this morning from my younger grandson. He said that his little sister was having some kind of a problem with her foot and couldn’t walk. After a bit, I contacted my son and his wife who told me that she had a big blister from her new shoes. I was glad to hear that it wasn’t anything more serious. A little later, I received another text from my grandson who updated me and said she was walking around now. I thanked him for keeping me informed and we chatted a bit. I loved the fact that he cared so much for his little sister and that he thought about letting me know what was happening. He has such a compassionate heart.

I Found God today in my grandson’s compassion.

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Good Shepherd Statue

Posted by eph21920 on June 30, 2018 in Faith, Friends, Grateful, Jesus

I have been trying to clean out some boxes that I haven’t even touched in the 4 years that I moved. Most of it is memorabilia and things I want to keep, but just don’t have the room to display. Today I came across a gift that I had forgotten about from the priest I used to work for. It was a statue of Jesus carrying a lamb on his shoulders. It had on it the dates I worked for the church and a note that I had “served as the Good Shepherd.” I was moved by the message and the memories. The statue now has a prominent place on my dresser.

I Found God today in a meaningful statue and note that stirred up wonderful memories.

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A Trip Thoroughly Enjoyed

Posted by eph21920 on June 29, 2018 in Answer, Children, Family, Friends, Fun, Grateful, Home, Joy, Life, Relationship, Rest, Travel

I made it home last night after a long day. I hugged and kissed my son, daughter in law, and grandchildren – several times – before they left for the day. When I headed to the airport, it was pouring rain. I questioned if my first flight would be delayed, but it took off on time. I slept for the entire duration. The second flight also took off on time. There were a couple of times of severe turbulence as we approached the incredibly hot and dry western city. My arms actually flew up in air at one point and you could hear a collective gasp – with one or two screams mixed in. All ended well, though, with a fast, rocky landing. Somehow, I wasn’t afraid, or even nervous. I figured, there was nothing I could do and if it was time for this plane to crash, it would. I did, however, say some “Hail Marys” and “Our Fathers” – my go to prayers. On my drive home, the sky was turbulent, colorful in the sunset, and ominous. At one point I saw what looked like a giant dust devil coming my direction. I held on tight to the steering wheel as the huge dust storm roared across the road, carrying debris of all kinds. Again, I wasn’t terrified – just held on for whatever was about to come. I thought about my trip as I finished my drive. For the first few days, I didn’t have to take care of anyone – not even myself as others were happy to shuttle me around and make sure I was all set. It was great. With my family, I enjoyed treating them as much as I could while going along with their schedule. No big decisions to make. And when I visited with my friends all in one day, it didn’t even feel hectic. For the whole trip, I was able to be present in the moment, enjoying each person and event for what it was. I wasn’t even worrying about what was going on at home. My sister knew what to do for my parents, and I knew she would contact me with any huge problems – which there were none. I sent them photos and texts along the way. When I arrived at the house, I gave a quick synopsis and showed them some additional pictures before we all turned in for the night. I thanked God repeatedly during the trip and as I drifted off to sleep. I was so grateful for the time, the relaxation, the excitement, the celebrations, the ability to be peaceful and joyful, and mostly for the relationships that He has provided me.

I Found God today recounting the awesome vacation I was able to thoroughly enjoy.

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Growing Grandchildren

Posted by eph21920 on June 27, 2018 in Children, Family, Happiness, Life, Love, Patience

Today my grandkids and I had a lazy day. We hung out, played games, and cooked. I loved spending this time with them and seeing how much they have grown since I last saw them. My almost 3 Year old granddaughter is so funny, smart, and has a large vocabulary. But sometimes it was difficult understanding her and she would get frustrated. She knew exactly what she wanted to communicate and tried so hard to get the words out right. Luckily it didn’t last long and we were right back to enjoying each other. My older grandson was a huge help with her routine and deciphering her needs. He was patient, loving, and attentive. It didn’t surprise me, because that’s who he is, but as he gets to be an older teen, you never know how things will go. My younger grandson won all the games we played. During Monopoly, as I was going broke, he offered to give me some money – “donating to the poor”. I thought it was a sweet gesture. But then later in the car, we were talking about having a large income, and he said that if people have a lot of money, they should help he poor. He does have a caring heart. It was a calm, lazy, wonderful day.

I Found God today in the growth of my grandchildren.

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Whirlwind Trip

Posted by eph21920 on June 26, 2018 in Baby, Connected, Faith, Family, Friends, Fun, Grateful, Laughter, Life, Love, Relationship, Youth

It has been a whirlwind the last couple of days as I continued to travel.

The day after the wedding, I had breakfast with the bride’s parents. After a few minutes, the bride and her new husband came in. It was unexpected and joyful. Then, the bride’s dad and some of his friends had the same flights as me, so I was able to share a ride with them to the airport. I really enjoyed talking with them and getting to know the bride’s father a lot more.

I have been able to see my grandchildren once a year since I moved away. We do video chat, which is great. But I was wondering how my toddler granddaughter would feel about seeing me in real life. When I got to my son’s house, she was standing at the top of the stairs. I went up to her slowly and calmly. She said hello and gave me a cautious hug. After a few minutes, she said, “Grammy! You’re here!” We settled in after that. We had a fun day today on a boat ride and playing on the beach. Then, I watched my older grandson’s last baseball game. It was the championship game, and his team won – an extra bonus.

I spent yesterday visiting friends. I was able to see babies of two couples that got married a few years ago. I spent some time with people I worked with at the church. In the evening, I met up with a lot of friends. Some were from my prayer group. Many of them were part of the youth ministry team. Several young people came too, so it was like a big reunion. We caught up best we could, reminisced, laughed, and hugged. We talked about how much we all grew during those years, how much we relied on God, and how we still do.

It has just been such a wonderful trip.

I Found God today in the blessing of so many meaningful relationships.

 

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The Beautiful Wedding

Posted by eph21920 on June 23, 2018 in Eucharist, Faith, Friends, Grateful, Happiness, Joy, Life, Marriage

Today was the big wedding. I arrived at the church early and a friend of mine showed me what to do to be a Eucharistic Minister for the celebration. When we finished, we looked for the tabernacle, which wasn’t apparently visible. We walked to the red lighted candle and found the huge gold tabernacle held in it’s own chapel behind the altar. It was on a pedestal made of large angels and was surrounded by kneelers. We went in, knelt, and said a few prayers. I asked for a special blessing over the couple about to be wed. When I finished, I was weepy. I looked at my friend who was standing by the door and he also was teary-eyed. It was reminiscent of our time working in youth ministry. Actually, much of the weekend reminded me of our Workcamp experiences in ironic and humorous ways. We composed ourselves and made our way out to get ready for the wedding. It was beautiful – of course. The young bride had attended to every detail. The ceremony was moving. One of the young readers gave them a glance as she read the words, “the two shall become one”. The music was excellent and many of the participants responded to the prayers and sang along. Of course, seeing the bride and groom commit themselves to one another was the most emotional. I was so happy for them to have found one another. I was overjoyed to be able to spend so much time with old friends. And again, I felt so blessed to be invited to this wonderful celebration and to participate in such a meaningful way.

I Found God today in a meaningful, emotional, joyful celebration of two young people as they married.

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Saved at the Airport

Posted by eph21920 on June 22, 2018 in Answer, Friends, Generosity, Grateful

I started off on a trip today to a wedding for a young woman I have known for years -since she was in high school youth ministry. I felt honored to be invited and even more so as she asked if I would be a Eucharistic minister for the celebration. My plane was scheduled to land at just the right time to be able to make it to the rehearsal. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed by an hour. By the time I landed, everyone was already at the church. Earlier in the morning, I had downloaded the Uber app as I felt I might need it. I talked to my son who gave me a quick run down on how to use it. Luckily, as I was texting my friend at the church, he was talking with the bride’s father. Come to find out, his sister had also just arrived at the airport. I met up with her and her husband who travels extensively. He ordered the Uber driver and showed me how the whole thing worked. We shared the ride to the hotel, then to the dinner where we met everyone else. They were super nice people, and I was so happy to have their help so I didn’t feel stranded at the airport.

I Found God today being saved at the airport.

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Me Be A Doggie

Posted by eph21920 on June 21, 2018 in Children, Family, Humor, Past

As my dad goes through his photography from years back, my mom and he talk about their memories. Today my mom told a story told to her by my dad’s aunt. One day she caught her toddler son outside “watering the bushes”. When the mom asked what he was doing, he responded, “Me be a doggie!”. I thought that was hysterical and we laughed and laughed.

I Found God today in a funny story my mom told.

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Perseverance Paying Off

Posted by eph21920 on June 20, 2018 in Friends, Hope, Life, New

Tonight I had dinner with friends and talked with a woman who has been on a diet since January. She has already lost over 50 pounds. She decided to change her habits and immediately stopped eating sugar of any kind. The foods and times she eats are very specific, but she is doing a great job. When we go to dinner, she never eats the bread and easily finds something to eat off the menu. She didn’t even taste the amazing chocolate truffles I brought to share. Of course she physically feels much better too. I was so impressed by her perseverance.

I Found God today in a friend’s perseverance.

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Job Well Done

Posted by eph21920 on June 19, 2018 in Family, Happiness, Job, Joy, Life, Past

As my dad was working on his genealogy, he got into boxes and piles of his old photos. Photography has always been a hobby of his, but sometimes it was more. He decided to organize some into binders. He put together all the pictures he took while he was in college that were published in newspapers. A colleague wrote the stories and he took the photos. There was his name in the 60 year old print. He and my mom would take a walk down memory lane with each article. In the past couple of days, he has been organizing other photographs that he did as jobs including weddings, advertisements, and catalogs. I remember him working on some of them when I was younger and still living at home. We went through many of them today. I thought they were fascinating as they told of the times in which the photos were taken. My dad is enjoying pouring through and organizing his work. It makes me happy to see his joy and pride for the work he has done.

I Found God today in my dad’s gratification for his work.

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