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Fe

Today my parents, a friend of theirs, and I went out to lunch. A young man wearing an interesting t-shirt came in and sat at the table next to us. Both my dad and I were staring at the shirt and I am sure he knew it. So I simply acknowledged it out loud to try to make it less awkward. In the middle of the shirt was a large chemistry symbol – Fe. My dad asked if that was the symbol for iron. The young man said it was. Then I was able to figure out the rest. It had 27:17 above the symbol and PRVB underneath. I deciphered it to be Proverbs 27:17, “Iron is sharpened by iron; one person sharpens another.” and asked the young man if that was correct. He said it was. The woman he was with congratulated us on our accomplishment. I remembered that scripture verse when I was working for a church. “Iron Sharpens Iron” is a ministry designed for men to build one another up, to support each other and help each other live a moral and faithful life. I knew a couple of men who attended one of their conferences and it really made an impact on them. It was good to see a young man who was involved in such an uplifting group. Later, I heard part of a conversation he was having with his waiter about the shirt. Evidently, it was a pretty good tool for getting people to think and way to start a conversation.

I Found God today in a hopeful young man.

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Dream Revealed Reality

We monitor my mom’s pulse and blood pressure on a regular basis. Recently, the pulse number has been erratic and sometimes very low. The same thing has happened with my dad due to premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) – extra, abnormal heartbeats that begin in one of your heart’s two lower pumping chambers (ventricles). I thought this could be the same thing now happening with my mom. She seemed to be feeling ok and the last thing we want to do is have another hospital visit, so we continued to keep track of what was happening. But it has been weighing on my mind. A couple of nights ago, I dreamed that I called the heart doctor who instructed us to download the information from the pacemaker which we can do with a home monitor instrument. In my dream, the doctor called us back and told us to go into the office to take a look at her. After seeing many of the lower pulse rates this weekend, I decided that was enough. My dad had an appointment already set up for today at the pacemaker clinic. I called the cardiologist first thing this morning and explained the situation to the nurse. She said to download my mom’s pacemaker information from home, which we did. She called back when they received the information and said it seemed the pacemaker probably needed some adjusting. She said to bring my mom in with my dad to the appointment. Just like my dream! Unfortunately, my dream ended there, so I didn’t know what to expect next. The technician at the clinic did some tests and verified that my mom does in fact have PVC’s. The home devices don’t always pick up those abnormalities, so it can show as a low pulse. She adjusted the pacemaker slightly. My dad was also checked and everything was working properly. It was good to know what was causing the abnormal readings and good to know all is well.

I Found God today in a dream-reality correlation with a positive outcome.

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It’s Mimi

I was so happy to video chat with my son, his wife, and my grandkids today. My 1 1/2 year old granddaughter looked and looked at the screen. I could see she was trying to make sense of it all. She waved at the prompting of her mom and dad as I kept saying hello and talking to her. My son and his wife kept saying, “It’s Grammy!” After a couple of minutes, I could tell it all clicked. My granddaughter said, “Hi Mimi!” in her sweet little voice. From there, we blew kisses and played games. The interaction with her and the rest of the family made my day. I am so grateful that we are able to stay in touch this way.

I Found God today interacting with my far away family.

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Rosary in Lourdes

This morning as I was preparing breakfast, my mom was flipping through the channels on the small TV in the kitchen as she does every morning. She came across EWTN and left it there for a few minutes to see what was on. The program that came on was a priest and group of people praying the rosary at the grotto in Lourdes, France. We immediately recognized the place. It looked the same as it did more than 40 years ago when my mother took me there on a pilgrimage. That trip definitely set the path for my life of faith. We left the program on and prayed the rosary while I continued to cook and my mother continued to sort out her medication for the day. Just as the trip set the path for my life, the prayer set my path for the day.

I Found God today remembering a powerful spiritual experience and bringing it to the forefront of my day.

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Waited For Good News

Among all the Thanksgiving good wishes yesterday was a message from a young woman I know. She was feeling particularly “mushy and reflective” as she had some concerning medical issues and was waiting to get answers. I understand how difficult it is to realize  there is something wrong, but not know exactly what. Your mind always goes to the worst case scenario. She was in my heart and prayers all through the day. Starting this morning I checked frequently to see if there were any updates and thought I would call later if I didn’t hear anything. Later this morning, I saw the message that she had good news. I was so glad that her waiting was over and now she could breath a sigh of relief.

I Found God today in good news for a young woman.

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One Day at a Time

I was surprised and happy to get a call from a far away friend this morning. We talked briefly as we were both getting ready for the big Thanksgiving meal. She asked how things were going here. I looked around at my mom, dad, sisters and brother-in-law and said that right now, things were pretty great. My sisters and I worked hard preparing the food and getting it all on the table. As we enjoyed the meal, my mom said how grateful she was that she had family around her as she sniffed a little and wiped away a tear of joy. My dad said he was thankful that my sisters and I kept such a good relationship. I am grateful for both as well and for the teamwork to make the delicious food. When I talked with my friend, I told her that I have learned to take one day at a time. When morning comes, I thank God for the night’s sleep and to be awake. When I hear my parents getting up, I thank God for them, that they are home, and for all they provide for me. I thank Him for the day and ask for His help and guidance to face whatever comes our way. I try to thank Him during the day as well – especially in the small things. One day at a time.

I Found God today being able to be grateful one day at at time.

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Festive Feeling

I went to the grocery store this morning to get the last few things I need for Thanksgiving dinner. I actually got there pretty early so the crowd was not too big. There was a festive feeling in the air and people were generally in a good mood. The employees were super friendly as they usually are. A woman was pushing one of those carts that has a play car on the front end. There were two seats filled with two adorable little boys making race car sounds. I smiled at them and asked if they were driving. The older of the two said something in toddler speak so I didn’t understand, but he seemed rather please with himself. At the checkout, I was third in line and people quickly filled in behind me. There was another mom with a little boy in the shopping cart at the front. The boy was unhappy and while not actually crying, he was more like whining. The cashier thought she would try to cheer him up by giving him a sticker. It stuck to his finger and as he tried to take it off, it stuck to the other one. She tried to help him, but he would have no part of that. It did distract him for a while, though, until he got fed up with trying to get the sticker off as it went back and forth from finger to finger. He finally shook his hand hard and it came off. Then he went back to his whining. The whole scene captivated and entertained the entire line of people along with the cashier and his mom who was very patient. Even though he was not too happy, his antics brought smiles and laughter to those around him.

I Found God today in generally happy people and childhood antics.

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The Magical Touch

The other day we spent some time at the cabin in the mountains. The old dishwasher has been making a terrible grinding sound coming from the motor and we have been wondering how long it will last. We started it yesterday and it went for a while, but then it stopped and just made clicking sounds. I tried everything I knew to get it going again with no luck. I went outside where my dad was doing some work to tell him the bad news. When we came back into the house, I heard the dishwasher running again. My mom said she fixed it. Evidently, she pushed all the buttons a couple of times, turned the knob, locked and unlocked the door a couple of times, and it started. We were impressed with her magical touch. When my mom got up this morning, she turned on the tv in the kitchen. The picture came on but there was no sound. Again I tried everything I knew to try to get the sound to come on, but it did not. After a few minutes I left the room and when I returned, the sound was working. My mom said she fixed it. Evidently, she pushed all the buttons a couple of times and turned it off and back on again and it started working. We were doubly impressed with her magical touch and found it pretty humorous.

I Found God today in the humor of my mom’s “magical touch”.

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You’re Amazing

Today as my parents and I were out and about, we passed by a home that we affectionately call the “Hippie House”. My parents have seen it transform many times over the years. The owners have added multi-colored accessories, large rocks, and a fence of sorts made out of tree stumps. There seems to be something new and different every time we see it. Today, there was a large white banner strewn across the entire front of the house. In bright red bold letters it read, “You’re Amazing!” Perhaps it is their way of spreading some joy, love, and happiness in the world. It certainly made us smile.

I Found God today in a large uplifting message.

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Painting With Friends

Last night some friends, my sisters, and I all went to a painting studio to celebrate my birthday – again. I had been wanting to do that for a long time and saw some beautiful pictures that my friends painted. One of my friends suggested we all go, so we did and we had so much fun. The instructor showed us step by step how to paint the picture of a forest after a snow storm. When I looked at the painting beforehand, I didn’t know how in the world I was going to accomplish it. But as we made our way through and with a few tips, I managed to pull it off. My sisters both had painting experience in the past – one of them currently paints pet portraits. She was a lot of help. The instructor also kept telling us to stand back and look at them to get a different perspective. That was helpful because up close to me, mine just looked like a bunch of lines. Part of the fun was seeing what other people did. Even though we all painted the same picture, each one was unique. Some of the paintings had smooth strokes and lines. Others had more texture. Some were darker and others were lighter. Each one kind of matched the individual personalities as well. My sisters stayed the night and we looked at our artwork again this morning in the sunlight. They looked even better than last night. We all decided to go again to celebrate upcoming birthdays. Getting out with friends and allowing my creative juices to flow was very uplifting and good for my soul.

I Found God today being with friends and being creative.