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Big News

Today my son and his wife had a very special doctor’s appointment. When it was finished, they shared the big news that they are expecting a baby at the end of August! They both wanted to start a family soon after their wedding and that is exactly what happened. They shared the ultrasound of the little one who is a whopping 2.7 cm with a heartbeat of 165 BPM. During the test, they got to see him/her moving all around. We talked about what an incredible miracle a new, growing life is. My son and his wife actually knew she was pregnant about 4 weeks ago, but they wanted to wait for the doctor’s appointment to share the good news. Since everything is going well, today was the day to make the formal announcement. I am so happy for them as they are just thrilled. It is hard to believe that now, 22 years after I first became a grandmother, there will be 4 grandchildren. What a blessing all around.

I Found God today in the miracle of a new life.

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A Little Church History

This evening I had dinner with 2 friends. One was a priest. The 2 of them talked a lot about church history such as King Henry VIII who broke away from the Catholic Church because he wanted to get a divorce and started the Church of England. They talked about church treasures such as St. Anthony’s Chapel in Pittsburgh, which holds about 5000 relics. I don’t really know a lot about church history, so didn’t have much to offer and was somewhat humbled by their knowledge. It’s not that I’m not interested as much as it isn’t where I have focused my attention. But I did love listening to their passionate conversation and I learned a thing or 2 as well. As we were leaving, my friend said how much she loved the evening, especially since she doesn’t often have the opportunity to talk about the church with others.

I Found God today enjoying my friends’ conversations.

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Seeing the World

Today I started cleaning out the cabinet with all the maps and travel information that my parents kept. They were all neatly filed alphabetically in folders and took up the whole four drawer filing cabinet. Needless to say, I was happy to get through even half of the first drawer. It is all very interesting information spanning the 1970’s to the 2000’s and I am looking through each item, finding more treasures, including a rental agreement in Arizona from 2009. My dad was 79 years old at that time. However, instead of being sad, I thought about what a full and exciting life my parents had. They loved to travel and did just about everything they wanted to do. I admired their enthusiasm and it made me happy.

I Found God today thinking about how my parents enjoyed seeing the world.

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A Catholic Funeral

Today I heard from a woman who I know from a prayer group. She has a friend who recently died. While her friend knew many people in the community, she didn’t know many Catholics. Her funeral is coming up and it will be in the Catholic Church. The woman asked the group if anyone else would attend. She said she may be the only one there. While it seems a sad situation, I found it uplifting that there would be a Catholic funeral. I also thought the woman was a loving friend for inviting others to attend and pray for the soul of her friend.

I Found God today in prayers for a woman.

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Million Miles Away

Tonight I watched the movie, “A Million Miles Away”. It was the true story of a man from Mexico who grew up traveling from place to place and working on farms with his family. His dream was to be an astronaut. His family made sacrifices so he could go to school and he earned a Master’s degree in engineer. After decades of work,  perseverance and additional sacrifices made by his wife and children, he finally achieved his goal and was on a flight crew of the space shuttle Discovery. It was an inspirational movie. When it finished, I wanted to learn more about the gentleman – Jose Hernandez – so I read more about him. I also watched a video interview with him. The movie seemed to be very true to his life. His family and community fully supported him in his endeavor. His father shared his recipe to accomplish what you want. That played a huge part in his life. He was asked about his faith. He replied that science and religion can coexist. Science explains how things happen. Religion explains why. He went on to say that when he was in space, he would look out one window and see the beauty of Earth, which is actually just a small microcosm of the universe. And when he looked out the other window, he saw everything else – the rest of space, which is perfectly aligned. As a scientist, he said he wasn’t sure he could explain all of that, and there has to be something else out there that we don’t understand – God. The movie was inspiring, the man was equally so.

I Found God today in the story of perseverance and faith of an astronaut.

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Living Vicariously

A friend of mine has been travelling recently. We are in a group text with several other friends. He went to Africa before Christmas and shared pictures from there, including wildlife he saw on safari, which was very exciting. Now he is in Guatemala for a friend’s wedding and is again keeping us in the loop. He sent beautiful photos of the landscape and the wedding. He also happened to catch a volcanic eruption on video, which was amazing. This morning there was a video one of his friends took of him landing after parasailing. I love that he’s enjoying himself and that he is sharing his adventures with us. I feel like I am living vicariously through him.

I Found God today sharing my friend’s adventures.

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God’s Life Directions

Today I visited for a while with an older couple that I know. The gentleman recalled the things he had done that kept him very busy after his “retirement”. He was just wondering what he should do next when he received the scary news that he had cancer. There was some period of time that he didn’t know if he was going to make it through. He said he talked to God and told Him that if he would die, then God would have to take care of his wife. After that one-way conversation, the gentleman started getting better. He said he didn’t hear a voice or anything, but he knew what his next mission was – take care of his wife. Since his recovery, she has been hospitalized and currently has a hard time getting around. He is doing a very good job of taking care of her.

I Found God today in my friend’s story of God’s guidance.

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Message to Pray

I was so happy to be able to spend some time in Eucharistic Adoration this morning. There was almost an overwhelming sense of peace as I was aware of God’s Presence in that moment and in my life. While I was there, my son texted that he will be having a final interview tomorrow for a job that he would really like. It would be in the place that he wants, pay that he needs, and work that he is familiar with. He has been struggling since he injured his back again and feels this job is what he and his family are in desperate need of at this time. I prayed before the Eucharist and put the situation in God’s hands. I encouraged my son to do the same. His message came at the perfect time and I was grateful to be in the chapel when I received it.

I Found God today in a perfectly time message for prayer.

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Adventures in Time and Space

My dad loved science fiction and had many old books. Today I was looking at one of them; a 1954 paperback, “Adventures in Time and Space”. I was also listening to a classical radio station. As I was looking through the book, a selection of Holst, The Planets came on. I always think of my dad when I hear that symphony. I smiled and shared the experience with my family. Then, the theme song from the old sci-fi series “Lost in Space” came on. It was too much. I was laughing out loud in the house by myself and thinking of my dad playing tricks. The other day at my prayer group, one of the gentlemen who knew my dad and is a physicist talked about how God exists outside of time and space. It all just came together. I hope and pray my dad is having his adventure outside of time and space as well.

I Found God today thinking of my dad in a humorous way.

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Sharing Encouragement

I do love TobyMac. I saw him in concert many years ago on the side of a mountain during a Christian music festival. The energy of his music is vibrant, and the lyrics are real and uplifting. He went through a very difficult time a couple years ago when his son tragically died. I have admired his perseverance and continued faith. I follow him on social media and today his message struck my heart, “And then I realized the season I wanted to skip became the soil God used to grow me.” I could relate to this feeling and was grateful for the encouraging words. While we don’t feel it or remember it in the moment, we are never alone in our struggles. God is always there, yes, and there are other people who are going through hardships. And there are those who are on the other side of a particular crisis and can encourage others. I am grateful to see the past couple years of my life in a more positive light at this time and definitely realize that I have grown through the pain.

I Found God today in an encouraging message.