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A Beautiful Family

Posted by eph21920 on March 26, 2017 in Children, Family, Relationship, Stranger

There was a lot of activity during church today –  a little more than usual. We sit in a back section for several reasons and have a first hand view of all the commotion. Mostly it comes in the form of parents and children. At the beginning of Mass, I noticed a particularly large family with the husband carrying a car seat, a bunch of kids following along, and the mom bringing up the rear. The dad went back and forth a couple of times with assorted children during the celebration. After Mass, we went out for lunch as we usually do. Once we got settled, who should happened to be seated just behind us was this particular family. My dad had a perfect view and enjoyed watching the mom, dad, and five children. The kids were 2 boys and 3 girls – just like my family. My dad commented that he saw them making the sign of the cross before eating. They were seated with 2 boys and dad between them on one side of the booth and 2 girls with mom between them on the other side. The baby was on the end. This arrangement allowed the mom and dad to be directly across from one another so they could converse while having access to all the children. I thought that was pretty smart. None of the children had electronic devices. They were all very well-behaved except for when the baby enjoyed making a high-pitched squeal to get everyone’s attention – successfully. This was followed by “SHHHH” coming from I think every other member. When we finished our meal, my dad said he just had to go over and chat with the family. He told them that our family was also made up of 2 boys and 3 girls. The mom said that they actually had 2 other older sons who were not with them. They talked a bit before we left. This family left quite an impression on us – particularly on my dad.

I Found God today in a beautiful family.

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Becoming Men

Posted by eph21920 on March 25, 2017 in Children, Connected, Family, Life, Opportunity, Plan

My son called me bright and early this morning. We talked about his plans after college graduation and started to put some things in place. We actually spoke several times during the day as we worked out some details. Later in the morning, my sister came for a visit. She also received a call from her son. This is the second time she has spoken with him since he left for Navy bootcamp 3 weeks ago. She was ecstatic. They talked about his graduation which is only 3 weeks before my son’s. The boys are 4 years apart in age and spent a few years living in the same house, so they are pretty close. But we would never have guessed that they both would have important graduation events so close together. It is an exciting time for them both.

I Found God today as my sister and I realize together how our boys are becoming responsible young men.

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Unshaken Faith

Posted by eph21920 on March 24, 2017 in Answer, Doctor, Faith, Friends, Grateful, Hurt

A friend of mine has struggled with health issues and accidents for as long as I have known her. Yet, after every incident she gets things fixed, goes through rehab, and comes back as strong as possible. She has an amazing will, attitude, and faith. I found out the other day that she was back in the hospital. I left her a couple messages and finally heard back from her. She had been in a car accident. She spent some time in the hospital and is now in rehab. Her bones are very brittle, so it wasn’t surprising to hear that she broke an arm. She also had a concussion – I think she said this is the 9th one. My heart hurt as she told me the news. But, as usual, her attitude and faith were amazing and she told me of all the people who helped her and were visiting and bringing her and her roommate Holy Communion. Then she said that this accident likely saved her life. I was a little confused at how that would be. She told me that the hospital had done a catscan to check her all over.
They found a mass at the bottom of her esophagus. She had no symptoms and had no ideas that it was there. It is likely that by the time she showed symptoms, it would have been very large and pretty bad. She is seeing her doctor about surgery on her broken arm and additional surgery to remove the mass. God works in mysterious ways was her explanation. Instead of being angry, she is grateful. I have much to learn from her. I would ask you to please say a prayer for her.

I Found God today in my friend’s unshaken faith.

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False Guilt

Posted by eph21920 on March 23, 2017 in Answer, Faith, Forgiveness, Priest

Today I was so happy to spend some time in the church in Eucharistic Adoration and to be able to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Going to confession is a difficult thing to do. But talking with the priest is always so helpful. Today we talked about the difference between “false guilt” and true guilt. “False guilt” is basically having an incorrect understanding of your relationship with God and who God truly is. It is condemning yourself for perhaps not being good enough, or for natural mistakes that we make. They feel the same to me. But one is based in truth and the other is not. The priest helped me to sort out which which feelings were good and healthy and which were not. At the end of our short session I felt forgiven, relieved and peaceful. It was such a blessing.

I Found God today in a wise priest who helped me through Reconciliation.

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Fighter Plane

Posted by eph21920 on March 22, 2017 in Death, Happiness, Life, Opportunity, Past

The other night I volunteered with the Fostering Hope Foundation at the monthly cooking events. I noticed that the young woman who organizes the event had a new tattoo of a WWII airplane. She shared the story of the unusual work of art. Her grandfather was in the Air Force and flew a fighter plane in WWII. The plane eventually ended up in a scrapyard in New Guinea. Decades later, a group of people rescued the plane and brought it to the city to be restored and displayed in a museum. The group met with the grandfather and it was then that they realized they were restoring the actual airplane that this man flew. The desire of the 101 year old was to see the plane fly one last time. His wish came true. When the plane was ready, it took off for a flight with the old pilot in a chaser plane. While he wasn’t able to actually fly the plane, he did get to see it airborne. He passed away only 1 month later. You can read the full beautiful story here. The young woman’s tattoo had smoke stream or clouds above the airplane in the shape of 3 wispy letter “c”s. She explained that was the secret to the long and happy marriage of her grandparents. They lived by “caring, committment, communication”. I met the young woman’s mother last night at an event and she was just lovely. It was clear that the grandfather had made a meaningful, loving, life long impact on the family and I am sure on many others.

I Found God today in a beautiful family with a wonderful and loving story of the grandfather.

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Beautiful Perspective

Posted by eph21920 on March 20, 2017 in Answer, Humility, Life, Relationship

I met a young woman last month as I was volunteering with the Fostering Hope organization. She was a volunteer as well. We had another event yesterday and I got to chatting with her. She told me about her experience doing some work in another country with a group of volunteer medical professionals – and some not like her. They helped as many people in as many ways as they could while they were there. She talked about how welcoming the residents were and how they offered the group everything they had. She said she felt God was teaching her about His body. Every person is part of the Body of Christ because He made each and every one. Each person is different and has a specific part for the whole body to function properly. In our human body, not all the parts are glamorous. Just the same, there are people who we might consider plain, ugly, or even hideous. It doesn’t matter, without them doing their part, life can get chaotic and even painful. I thought this young woman’s insight was beautiful.

I Found God today in a young woman’s perspective of others.

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Call From the Navy

Posted by eph21920 on March 19, 2017 in Answer, Family, Happiness, Joy

Since my nephew left for the Navy, my sister has been anxiously waiting to hear his voice and know that he is OK. She received a phone call from him this morning and called my parents and me after they hung up. She was overjoyed as she repeated the short conversation. She said he sounded just like himself and she was able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that everything was all right. I was just as excited as she was and so happy to hear her joy.

I Found God today in my sister’s joy as she talked to her son.

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Play Day

Posted by eph21920 on March 18, 2017 in Friends, Fun, Grateful

Today I was looking forward to participating in a Lenten retreat day. My sister came over early to visit with my parents and I headed to the church. When I got there, I saw a sign that said the retreat had been cancelled and to please pray for the priest. There was a group of people talking about it, but I don’t know exactly what happened. I went back and sat in my car to figure out what to do next. It was a beautiful day outside, and my sister was at the house, so I decided to spend some time in a nearby city. The place has very interesting stores and art galleries. I called friend and even at the spur of the moment she came and met me there. We had a such great time. We looked at interesting things, played at the old-time penny arcade, and had lunch outside. It was wonderful to laugh and visit and have so much time just for amusement. It was strange, though, that the retreat was cancelled, but I still had a relaxing, enjoyable day in a completely different way and setting. I connected with God for sure, but in another way than I had planned. I was grateful for my sister, the beautiful weather, my friend, and free time.

I Found God today spending the day having fun with a good friend.

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St. Patty’s Treats

Posted by eph21920 on March 17, 2017 in Food, Joy, Saint

At the beginning of this week, I realized that I was responsible for bringing snacks to the Parkinson’s Caregiver Support Group scheduled for today. Then I remembered that it is St. Patrick’s Day too, so I decided to make themed snacks. I have made Irish soda bread in the past, and it has been ok, but nothing spectacular. I searched and found another recipe along with a teaching video. I loved it. There were a few additional ingredients to give it a little more flavor. It is always tricky baking in high altitude, but it came out beautiful. I also found a recipe for chocolate mint brownies with a green mint filling and chocolate ganache topping. They also turned out amazing. My mom said it was the best thing I ever made. I had to agree. I think I get my love of chocolate and mint from her. To complete the snacks, I includes green grapes and a nut mix with plenty of green pistachios. The people at the support group loved the treats and I enjoyed their enjoyment.

I Found God today making treats and seeing people enjoy them.

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Holding My Hand

Posted by eph21920 on March 16, 2017 in Answer, Bible, Connected, Faith, Joy, Relationship, Struggles

Have you ever heard or read something and felt like God was speaking directly to you? This morning I read a reflection that really touched my heart. I will admit that sometimes I struggle with being lonely. I think we all have a desire to have that “special someone” who knows us intimately, is always there for us, and always has our best interest at heart. But the reality is that regardless of how many or how meaningful our relationships may be, they all fall short because we are all human. God knows me intimately because He created me to be who I am. The reading today talked about how He is always here with and for us. It quoted Isaiah 41:13 – “For I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, Do not fear, I will help you.” The author suggested that when you feel lonely, to close your right hand and imagine God holding onto it. I did think about it one time today and did the exercise. It filled me with joy and I just smiled.

I Found God today learning a way to remember I am not alone.

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