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Beach Time

Posted by eph21920 on June 5, 2025 in Creation, Family, Food, Grateful, Happiness, Joy, Life, Travel

It was a hot day on the east coast. Seemed like a good day to head to the beach. Most of my grandson’s friends are finishing their last week of school, so I picked him up and we headed to Maine. My daughter in law’s family made an annual trip there for many years. My grandson wanted to stay in that same hotel, so I got it set up. We had lobster for lunch, walked the beach, had ice cream for dinner, sat in the hot tub, and played giant chess. It was the epitome of a day on vacation at the beach. I felt so grateful and blessed.

I Found God today enjoying the beach.

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Adult Adoption

Posted by eph21920 on June 4, 2025 in Connected, Family, Friends, Happiness, Healing, Relationship, Struggles

I visited with a friend today who shared a heartwarming story with me. Many years ago, she began caring for her nephew as his parents were no longer capable of doing so. She loved him and raised him as her own. As he grew into young men, he married and started a family of his own, though they always remained in contact. He struggled with various issues and wanting to better himself and his family life, he went to counselling. After a little while, his wife shared with my friend that much of his inner conflict was that he wondered what was wrong with him that no one wanted to be his parent. My friend never realized this deep pain that he had. So, on his birthday she presented him with adult adoption papers and asked if he would like her to be his mother. He broke down in tears and gladly accepted the offer. I remembered seeing a photo of him beaming with joy. From then on, everything started to improve. I thought it was so wonderful that the now grown adult man had the courage and perseverance to seek help to improve his state of mind and the quality of his family life. At the same time, it was so loving of my friend to follow through on her nephew’s deepest desire to help heal his heart.

I Found God today in a loving friend.

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Arrived

Posted by eph21920 on June 3, 2025 in Car, Family, Grateful, Opportunity, Travel

This evening my grandson and I arrived at our destination. I dropped him off at his friend’s house and told him I would miss him. We’ve been together for 8 days driving across this beautiful country. I felt so blessed to have this time with him so far. Now he will spend some time visiting with his friends and go to their high school graduation. After I told him goodbye, I headed up to my old stomping grounds where I met up with the priest I used to work for. Of course, a lot has changed since I was last at the parish. He gave me a tour of the grounds and the church that had all been renovated since the last time I had seen it. The church was stunning and represented all 3 of the churches that came together as 1. I am excited to see some of my old friends and am grateful I have this time and opportunity.

I Found God today arriving safely at our destination.

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Toes in Lake Eerie

Posted by eph21920 on June 2, 2025 in Connected, Creation, Family, Relationship

Last night we stayed in a place near Lake Eerie. I don’t remember ever putting my feet in that lake, so I figured it must be done. My grandson and I drove out to a peninsula recommended by the hotel attendant. It was quite an ordeal as you had to pay for parking at the entrance of the little area. There was no choice. So I paid too much for the parking and we had to ask how to get to the beach part as there were hotels, camping, and amusement parks everywhere. We figured it out and walked the beach up and down. I got my feet wet and called it good. My grandson was such a good sport. We have come to work in a pretty good understanding of one another. He chooses some things, and I choose some things. As we walked, we had some good conversations. I have just loved getting to know him better. He asked if it was worth all the trouble and expense to get my feet wet in Lake Eerie. I said yes.

I Found God today enjoying the water and talking with my grandson.

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Beautiful Church

Posted by eph21920 on June 1, 2025 in Eucharist, Faith

This morning I found a church in the small town that we stayed in last night. It was so beautiful and ornate. There were murals painted on the ceilings and behind the side altars. The colors were all so vibrant. Up in the choir loft was a stunning pipe organ. For Communion, everyone approached the Communion rails and took turns kneeling to receive the Sacrament. And before Mass there was Eucharist Adoration. Finding such a lovely old church was a wonderful surprise.

I Found God today in a beautiful church.

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Near Miss

Posted by eph21920 on June 1, 2025 in Car, Travel

Yesterday as we were driving on a busy 5 lane highway, suddenly there was a big cloud of white powder or something that blocked the view of the car in front of me. I couldn’t tell what happened, but that car quickly moved all the way over to the left and disappeared. I hit the brakes as did all the cars around me. As I tried to watched all the cars around me, I slowly went through the cloud of debris. Then I saw a canister of some kind in one of the lanes to the right and a trash truck that had pulled over. Evidently something fell out of the truck and exploded it’s contents onto the road. When I was clear of the danger, and kept going, my heart was pounding. It was pretty scary. I thanked God for keeping us safe and those around us. It could have been such a catastrophe.

I Found God today in safety.

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Pivoting

Posted by eph21920 on May 31, 2025 in Car, Family, Grateful, Travel

This morning my grandson and I got up early and went to an event that he has been looking forward to. He packed up his camera things and we headed to the venue where the foot race was to be held. When we arrived, his camera’s battery was depleted. He wasn’t worried as he brought his portable battery pack. Unfortunately, it wasn’t charging the camera. We found an outlet and plugged it in there. Still no luck. After exhausting our ideas, we went back to the car. Once it was plugged into a different cord, it started charging. Sadly, by this time, it was too late to cover the event. It was early in the day, so we did a couple side trips from our original plan and stopped at a farmer’s market, flea market, and antique shop. That shop struck a chord with my grandson and he did a video story on it. Things didn’t turn out at all how we had planned. But, lessons were learned and I was grateful that when we pivoted, everything turned out just fine.

I Found God today moving forward from disappointment.

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But The People

Posted by eph21920 on May 30, 2025 in Car, Family, Fun, Happiness, Life, Travel

As we have been travelling off the beaten path, we have been meeting such nice, chatty people. There was the woman who made breakfast at the hotel who told us about her childhood participating in the rodeo and found out later in life that her family was involved in the Mafia. One store owner brought out her cats for us to meet. In one small town, there was a newly renovated opera house that we visited. The woman gave us a personal tour – as there was no one else around – and told us about her background in theater, as well as the history of the town. At an antique shop, the owners were very friendly and passionate about their venture. There was a man who visits his friend in Colorado where they go mountain biking and do outdoors things. The people we talk to are almost as excited as we are taking this trip. It is so uplifting to talk with many friendly, happy people.

I Found God today in the many happy people we talk to.

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Different View

Posted by eph21920 on May 29, 2025 in Car, Family, Fun

My grandson and I continued across the country today. At one point we stopped at a Maverick in Nebraska. My grandson thought it was one of the most amazing gas stations he had ever seen. It had lots of food for the road. He came across a display case of donuts, so we had to get a chocolate frosted long John for just over $1. As we went to check out, there was a real cowboy standing in line with chaps and everything. He came out of the store shortly after us and went to a truck with other real cowboys towing a trailer with saddled horses. It was just something we don’t see every day. One thing my grandson wanted to see was the fields of corn that Nebraska is famous for. We did find a field that was growing corn but it’s so early in the season, the stems were not very tall yet. We also saw a lot of little lakes and ponds and a beautiful sunset. While there wasn’t a lot to see, what we did see was different from our “normal”, so that made it worth taking notice.

I Found God today seeing things in a different place through a different lens.

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State Stories

Posted by eph21920 on May 28, 2025 in Family, Grateful, Life, New, Plan, Relationship

My grandson has been excited to create video stories during our road trip. He has a whole vision of doing a segment in almost every state we drive through. The series would be named, appropriately, “State Stories.” He even set up a YouTube channel for the collection. Yesterday as we explored little towns near Mount Rushmore, he came across a co-op artist gallery. He thought that looked like it would offer just what he was looking for. They were closed at that time, so we went back this morning, just in time for opening. My grandson introduced himself to the artist who was working the gallery and explained that he was interested in doing a video of the shop. The gentleman agreed and even offered to call other artists to come and participate. We left and returned to the store in the afternoon. We met 2 other artists who, along with the first gentleman, took the time to do an interview with my grandson. They were all very friendly, creative, and interesting. My grandson was thrilled to get a story that met the criteria he had been looking for. I was very proud as I watched him in his element. He was very courteous, professional, and comfortable doing what he loved to do.

I Found God today in my maturing grandson.

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