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Finally a Letter

Posted by eph21920 on April 6, 2017 in Family, Joy

My sister finally received a letter today from her son in boot camp. She called and read the letter to us in her excitement. Evidently, it is customary to extract the wisdom teeth of the recruits. This has been on my sister’s mind. She was wondering if the teeth had been pulled and how her son was doing through that. He said in his letter that the procedure had been done and that he was looking forward to a day off as he recovered. He said they were going to have their hair cut again. And he talked about the basic lessons he has learned so far. I loved hearing the letter and the joy it brought to my sister.

I Found God today in my joyous sister.

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The Rest of the Story

Posted by eph21920 on April 5, 2017 in Connected, Family, Life, Music, Past

My mom said she read my blog from yesterday and that there was more to the story. She said she memorized the Warsaw Concerto to perform in a high school competition. She was working on her voice training too and decided to perform a song as well. I asked which was harder. She said the piano piece for sure and she was certain it would make a good impression. She did win the competition – but not for the incredible piano performance. It was her singing that won her the scholarship. My awe of her musical talent just continues to grow. To make the story complete, the song she sang was “Vissi d’arte” – an aria from Puccini’s opera, “Tosca”. As I listened to different variations, the link provided sounds most like how I remember her amazing voice. The first line translated means, “I lived for art, I lived for love.” That describes her perfectly.

I Found God today appreciating more the music that is my mother.

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A Concerto

Posted by eph21920 on April 4, 2017 in Family, Life, Music, Past

The other day, my mom found a folder of piano music that she had been looking for. Today she sat at the piano and went through some of the pieces. Many of them had her maiden name written on them, making them more than 65 years old. I looked at the complicated chords, runs, and timing and became even more appreciative of what an amazing musician my mom is. She came across one piece in particular – the Warsaw Concerto. At one time, she had the 15 page concerto memorized. Unfortunately, she was not able to play it any more. I found a beautiful rendition on youtube. As soon as the pianist started the performance, I recognized it and remembered hearing my mom play it. I envisioned her fingers flying effortlessly over the keyboard. Even though it was a little sad that she can no longer play at that level, the old music brought fond memories.

I Found God today in fond memories.

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Thundersnow

Posted by eph21920 on April 3, 2017 in Answer, Friends, Joy, Weather

The forecast called for stormy weather this afternoon and tomorrow, so I headed out to run errands and get to the grocery store before that happened. When I got to the grocery store which was my last stop, I spotted some pretty dark clouds just above me. They looked like thunderstorms to me and the temperature was mild, so I was a little surprised when I came out of the store to see gropple – or little snowballs. When I got home, my neighbor was in his open garage, so we chatted a bit. He asked if I had every experienced thundersnow. I said I did one time. Then looking at the clouds again, I said I thought I heard thunder a little earlier and this seemed to be the right circumstances. I checked the thermometer and it was a balmy 50 degrees. My dad came out to chat as well and then it happened – thunder followed by a heavier snowfall. We all rejoiced at experiencing the phenomena.

I Found God today by experiencing an uncommon weather phenomena right after talking about it.

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Aunt Anticipation

Posted by eph21920 on April 2, 2017 in Answer, Family, Happiness

My parents will be celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks. They decided to have a small party at the house and we got busy sending out invitations. My mom’s sister is the only living immediate family member for both of my parents. She lives very far away and they haven’t been together in quite a few years. When we got ready to mail her the invitation, my mom said, “You never know about her – she just might come!” She actually said that a couple of times. Today I spoke to my aunt and found that she is indeed coming. One of my cousins will be travelling with her. When my parents heard the news, they both became a little teary eyed and emotional. They are very excited to see my aunt again.

I Found God today in my parents loving reaction to know that they will be seeing my mom’s sister.

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Reconnecting

Posted by eph21920 on April 1, 2017 in Answer, Baby, Connected, Doctor

I have had the pleasure of keeping in touch with a few of the youth that I have known from when I was a youth minister. One in particular was married last year and they just had their first child. The little baby had some immediate health issues. Thankfully, they were able to get things under control enough so he was able to go home with mom and dad. The family has been on my mind and in my prayers ever since.  I thought about my friend who is a pediatrician and who was a huge part of the ministry – even taking youth on mission trips and retreats. He knows the new mother as well. I reached out to the young woman and was so glad to get a response today. The good doctor is in fact her pediatrician. I thought about what a blessing that must be for both of them.

I Found God today in a reconnection.

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Positive Exposure

Posted by eph21920 on March 31, 2017 in Creation, Family, Life, Struggles

We have visited the mall several times for various reasons, but only realized recently that there has been a photography exhibit there. Being a photographer himself, my dad spent some time at the mall the other day, but was unable to locate the exhibit. We decided to give it another try, so my dad and I headed over there this afternoon. It was a very busy place as the schools are finishing up a week-long break and the weather was dreary and cold. We asked a couple of people about the exhibit and were finally able to find it. The title of the exhibit was, “POSITIVE EXPOSURE – “The Spirit of Difference”. The space was full of  beautiful portraits of “people living with genetic, physical, intellectual and behavioral differences.” The subjects were all different ages. Many of the photos were people from our own community. Each picture had a little description of the individual. Some included their particular struggle, some did not. My dad and I discussed the composition and how the portraits revealed the inner joy and beauty that was a part of each person. The photographer’s goal is to “Change How You See, See How You Change.” It certainly was not the kind of exhibit we had anticipated, but it truly did move my heart.

I Found God today in photos of extraordinary people.

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Clearer View

Posted by eph21920 on March 30, 2017 in Answer, Faith, Lent, Life

Every morning we open the blinds over the very large dining room windows. The sunshine can be very intense, so we usually wait until the afternoon to fully raise them. Then we enjoy the view especially during lunch and dinner. As I was doing some spring cleaning today, I washed the windows. That had not been done for quite some time. When I finished it was noticeably brighter in the room, even though the sun was now behind clouds. I thought about how I didn’t realize how clouded our view had become. Then I thought about how the same can be true in life. If we don’t attend to our spirituality, our thoughts and view of life can become clouded. We can feel like we are in darkness. We don’t clearly see the beauty that’s right in front of us. But when we do some spring cleaning and go to church, pray, read scripture, and the like, our view gets brighter. We realize the love God has for us and our soul enlightens. Lent is such a great time to start spring cleaning our spirits.

I Found God today in a clearer view.

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His Ways II

Posted by eph21920 on March 29, 2017 in Answer, Family, Grateful, Healing

I was reflecting more today on the statement of “God’s ways are not our ways”. While it is true that I – we all – go through difficult times, there are also times when things work out marvelously. When I am able to put my circumstances in God’s hands, there have been numerous times when I am amazed at how they are resolved. I may think I know how I would like a situation to be, but sometimes it ends up so much better than I ever anticipated. One example is my mom’s last stay in the hospital. I was preparing for the worst and just hoping that she would be able to come home. I figured I would do my best to handle whatever condition she would be in. Not only did she come home, she has been thriving gradually but steadily – even with some setbacks. At physical therapy today, she was able to move and maneuver in ways I didn’t think she would be able to. She felt the same way and was amazed at how much she could do. Moments like that make me incredibly grateful.

I Found God today reflecting on how His ways can be more life-giving than I anticipate.

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His Ways

Posted by eph21920 on March 28, 2017 in Faith, Hope, Life, Struggles

I read a Bible reflection today and there was one line that struck my heart, “God’s ways are not our ways”. This is so true in so many ways, but especially when I am hurting or very unhappy. I can’t understand why God is putting me through such an ordeal. However, if I can just hang on, hope, and trust, I am able to look back and see the benefits of what I think to be a terrible thing.

I Found God today in a reminder that He works quite different from me.

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