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Blessing of Siblings

Posted by eph21920 on May 13, 2017 in Family, Grateful, Job, Past, Service

My sister is getting ready to sell her house. Today my brother and other sister went to help her do some more work. My mom, dad, and I went to the Parkinson’s Support group. This is the first time that my dad has come and while it was an overwhelming amount of information, he seemed to enjoy the meeting. There was even a couple there that my parents knew from church many years ago. When my brother came back to the house after his day of work, he reported everything he and my sisters accomplished. I remembered when he came to help me get my house ready for sale just a few short years ago. We talked about the painting and taking down wallpaper. As we talked, I grew more grateful for my siblings and how supportive they are when someone is in need of help.

I Found God today in the blessing of siblings.

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Grateful for Mentors

Posted by eph21920 on May 12, 2017 in Faith, Family, Grateful, Life, Past, Priest

Today a friend of mine celebrated his 10th anniversary of being ordained a priest. He shared some pictures of the ordination on social media. As I browsed the pictures, I saw one of him with my son. At the time, my son was an altar server at the church and the priest asked if he would serve during the celebration. Seeing the photo brought back a flood of memories. I thought about how difficult that specific time was as I had gone through a divorce. I thought about the people who God put in our lives. I am so grateful especially for the mentors that helped build my son into the young man he has become. I always thought he would make a great priest. It doesn’t appear that will happen, but one never knows.

I Found God today remembering the wonderful mentors He put in my son’s life.

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Almost Finished

Posted by eph21920 on May 11, 2017 in Family, Happiness, Joy

My son called me early this morning and announced that he had completed his last class in his college career. He has some final touches to finish a couple of papers and that will be that. After 5 years, it doesn’t quite feel like reality to him yet. He told me about conversations he has had with friends as they discuss having to go out in the world and be adults. We talked about what he will be doing during his last few days in college and how to pack up his remaining items. He told me about the different regalia that he is able to wear with his cap and gown. There will be two full days of assorted celebratory events for his graduation. I am so happy that I will be able to travel and so excited to see the culmination of his hard work and accomplishments.

I Found God today getting excited for my son’s college graduation.

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Sun Shine on My Face

Posted by eph21920 on May 10, 2017 in Bible, Car, Connected, Creation, Faith, Music, Weather

The sky was overcast with thick clouds early this morning I was driving to an appointment. I was listening to the Christian radio which I always find uplifting. The song, Beautiful Day by Jamie Grace was being introduced. She said that when she was having a bad day, she would tell her father that this was just not her day. Her father responded that of course it was not her day, that this is the day the Lord has made and we should rejoice and be glad in it – a quote from Psalm 118:24. I sang along as I knew many of the lyrics. The lines came, “There’s something ’bout the way, Your sun shines on my face, It’s a love so true I can never get enough of You!” As I was singing the words, the sun broke through the clouds for a moment and shone on my face. It filled me with joy. I think I will always remember that when I feel tempted to say, “It’s just not my day.”

I found God today in a well-timed bit of sunshine.

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Old Piano Teacher

Posted by eph21920 on May 9, 2017 in Family, Friends, Humility, Love, Music, Teacher

Today my parents and I had lunch with a couple of my mom’s music friends. They were all piano teachers. While they were teaching, they also all took lessons from the same person. My mom was in her 40’s when she started learning from the older and more experienced woman. Even though my mom is an unbelievable piano player, she was humble enough to know that she didn’t know it all. She talked about how much she learned from the woman. All three of the ladies reminisced about their teacher who died a few years ago at the age of 93. One of my mom’s friend’s said that they all enjoyed training under her, but that my mom was her favorite. My mom remembered that sometimes when she played, it would bring tears to the woman’s eyes. I feel that way sometimes too.

I Found God today displayed in my mother’s humility and love for her mentor.

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He is God

Posted by eph21920 on May 8, 2017 in Answer, Bible, Faith, Jesus, Joy, Peace

I read a reflection today from Bishop Robert Barron about the image of Jesus being our “good shepherd”. Jesus Himself tells us in the Bible that is who He is. A couple of statements that struck me were, “Imagine the difference between humans and sheep; and now multiply that difference infinitely. That would give you some idea of the difference between God and humanity.”  When I pray, I try to imagine God – Jesus. I know that no matter how I try to envision Him, I cannot get it correct because He is so much more than I can wrap my head around. When I am trying to make decisions about what to do, I ask for God’s guidance. When I feel a nudge toward a certain answer, I tend to question it. When bad things happen, I get angry with God. When I make mistakes and am less than perfect, I beat myself up and feel unlovable. All of these things are the result of thinking about God as if He is a human being. The reality is that He is so different and so much more than I can imagine. It is difficult, but when I can just accept that fact, I can live more fully in joy and peace. He loves me no matter what. Bishop Robert Barron ends with, “And yet God is willing to lay down his life for the likes of us.” I say often, “Thank God He is God.”

I Found God today realizing how much different He is from me.

 

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More To Celebrate

Posted by eph21920 on May 7, 2017 in Birthday, Family, Fun, Happiness

My sisters and brother came over today for another family party. This time we decided to celebrate both my parent’s birthdays and early Mother’s Day. My mother donned the tiara and was queen for the day. My dad enjoyed playing with his Star Trek Communicator that was sent by my other brother. He paired it with his cell phone and used it to communicate through. We always have a great time when we get together and eat all day. Even though my parents are getting weary from all their festivities, they said how wonderful it is that 4 of 5 kids now live close enough to come over often. We think so too. At the end of the day, my dad and I agreed that both he and my mom are doing pretty good right now. I think it is awesome to continue to have occasion to celebrate.

I Found God today celebrating again with family.

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Handy Men

Posted by eph21920 on May 6, 2017 in Answer, Car, Family, Generosity, Grateful, Problem, Stranger

My sister is getting ready to put her condominium up for sale. She has been working hard purging and packing. Today I was happy to be able to spend some time with her and give her a hand. Her son’s SUV is still at her place and she planned on using it to begin loading up her storage unit. I brought my dad’s SUV also so we could take as much as possible. We got both vehicles loaded up and ready to go. However, my nephew’s would not start. My sister had some problems with it the day before, but thought she got it fixed. So, she dug out the jumper cables. I figured out how to open the hood on my dad’s car and moved it into place. I have used jumper cables before, but the directions on them were somewhat confusing to both of us. My sister tried to look up more details online and tried calling our brother-in-law with no luck. There were a few men nearby talking with one another in the parking lot. Finally, I decided to just ask if someone would be able to help us out. One man said he would be happy to and came on over to the cars. He explained that we were pretty much on track and helped us finish the process to start the car. Then, my sister had to stop for gas before we could get very far. We were both concerned about turning the car off again, but at least now we knew what we were doing. My sister pulled up to the gas pump and tried to get the gas cap off the tank, but it was stuck tight. I was getting ready to try my hand at it, but then she asked the burly man at the next gas pump over. He came over and fought with the cap too, but managed to get it off. The car started back up again and we were on our way. We were grateful for the very helpful men who came to our aid.

I Found God today in some very helpful men.

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First in Line

Posted by eph21920 on May 5, 2017 in Family, Food, Generosity

Yesterday was a super busy day, so my mom and I stopped for lunch at a local sandwich place. Several people arrived at the same time and made it to the door way before we did. A very nice young man stopped, waited for us, and held the door open. When we entered, there was a pretty long line. I tried to give the young man his place in front of us, but he would have none of it. He let us go first and got in line behind us. I was impressed by the very thoughtful young man.

I Found God today in a very thoughtful young man.

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New Podiatrist

Posted by eph21920 on May 4, 2017 in Answer, Doctor, Family, Grateful, New

Among her many health issues, my mom has had painful feet and problems with her toes for years now. Since I moved in with them, I have been to one podiatrist appointment with her. That doctor was really less than helpful. She started having more problems, so this time we started with her primary care doctor. He took a look at my mom’s feet and said it was likely that a toenail or two would have to be removed and that she should see a specialist. My mom asked to see a different doctor than the one she had seen before. Her physician was more than happy to refer her to a different podiatrist. We were grateful that the new doctor was able to see her right away. I was already thinking about what kind of procedure and recovery it would be for my mom to have toenails removed. The new podiatrist took a good amount of time with us looking at x-rays, asking lots of questions, and examining my mom’s feet. In the end, he taught me how to give a good pedicure and what to look for. They gave her some pads that should help relieve some of the pain. And there is no need to have surgery of any kind. On the way out, my mom said how happy she was that she spoke up and changed doctors. I agreed.

I Found God today in my mom’s self advocacy that resulted in a favorable doctor’s appointment.

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