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Back At Home

Posted by eph21920 on October 6, 2015 in Family, Grateful, Healing, Home

After 6 weeks, it finally happened – we brought my sister to her house yesterday. Since she broke her leg and had surgery, she has been unable to put any weight on it all. So, she has been staying with my parents and I. Their house is a little easier to get around and such. My brother came to stay with my parents while I spend some time with my sister getting her acclimated. She has been somewhat afraid to get back to her home as there are stairs with hardly any railings just to get in the front door. It is funny how you don’t think about those kind of things until you are in the situation. Along the way, we have realized that some places are very handicapped accessible and some are not. In any case, she has been practicing a little on her crutches and made it up the stairs and into her house with me just spotting her. Step #1 was completed. We were happy to see that her son and his girlfriend had been spending some time vigorously cleaning. Her son had just started his first year at the local community college when my sister had the accident. He had been at the house alone taking care of himself – and did a pretty good job – even as he got sick. We all had dinner together, and it was a great feeling to have the family back together. My sister experimented with different devices to see which worked best around her house. After a long day, we figured out the best place to sleep where my sister would be most comfortable. Today my sister’s son and I got the bathroom all set up for my sister to make her way up the long staircase and take a shower. It all worked out just fine. Her physical therapist came over and tried a couple different ways to navigate the outside steps, so now she has some different options. Everything is coming together a little at a time.

I Found God today in being able to get my sister back to her house and reunited with her son.

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Granddaughter’s Baptism

Posted by eph21920 on October 4, 2015 in Baby, Children, Faith, Family, Joy

Today another new little one joined the family of Christ – my granddaughter. I talked to my sons ahead of time to see if it would be possible to video chat during her Baptism in the church, and they said they would try. I got a call from my older grandson when they got to the church and we made the connection. Unfortunately, it was very poor and not worth trying to keep it going. So, we stayed tuned to social media and watched the pictures roll in. After the Baptism, my grandson sent several pictures that he took. Of course, my granddaughter looked like a little angel in her beautiful gown and bonnet that resembled a mantilla. My sister, mom, dad, and I just loved seeing the pictures. It brought so much joy to the household. At Mass today, one of the scripture readings included Mark 10:13-16; “And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.” I thought of the wonderful day that my children were having so far away from me and while I was sad not to be there, I also felt so blessed by the gift of this child and of the faith of my son and daughter-in-law. It is beautiful to see them bringing their children to Jesus. Today is also the Solemnity of St. Francis of Assisi. His prayer has always been one of my favorites. Now I will remember that my granddaughter has this special saint on her side.

I Found God today in the Baptism of my granddaughter and all the blessing and joy that it brought.

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Catching Up With Family

Posted by eph21920 on October 3, 2015 in Children, Connected, Family, Grateful

This morning I took a walk in the brisk air. I am surprised at how the weather seemed to change immediately at the first of October. After a few minutes I thought I would like to chat with someone. Since I always carry my phone, I thought I would call my sister who is typically an early riser. Just then, my phone rang. It was my son. He was on his way to his brother’s house for the weekend. It is a long drive and he was on hands free, so we were able to talk for quite some time. I finished my walk, took an extra lap around the block, got back to the house, and we were still talking. He caught me up on all his news – college classes, ultimate frisbee team, girlfriend, job possibilities, health, future plans, and evidently he has found the perfect lucky shirt to make his favorite team win every game. It was a great conversation. Not too long after we hung up, my sister called and I was able to catch up with her too. Both my brothers called during the day and I talked with them for a while. Later in the evening, I called my other son and we chatted for a while as well. He and his family are getting ready for the Baptism of their new little girl. Though I am sad not to be able to be with them, I feel blessed to have these wonderful family relationships. Each person has their own thing going – struggles and joys – and yet, we can still connect with one another with unconditional love. We know that it is OK to be who we are and that we have the support of each other.

I Found God today in enjoying beautiful family relationships.

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Guardian Angels

Posted by eph21920 on October 2, 2015 in Angel, Family, Prayer

I got up early this morning, ready to start my day with a walk. When I stepped outside, it was raining, so I went back in. I stretched my body out a bit and decided to spend time doing some praying and reading. I found the Mass readings for the day and realized it is the memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels. The scripture reference is Matthew 18:10 where Jesus speaks about the angels that are watching over the children. This has always been a comfort to me. As a child, when I would feel alone and it seemed that God was so far away, I knew my guardian angel was right there by my side. As an adult, I still pray to my guardian angel and feel protected. We said the prayer to the Guardian Angels at breakfast this morning and at the end, my sister sighed. She was reminded of when we used to say this prayer with our boys many years back. They had stuffed animals who recited the prayer and at the end there was a heavy sigh. It was so cute then, and we would echo it back. Our sons even still remember this point. I would like to think that though they are technically on their own now, that they would continue to remember and pray to their guardian angels.

I Found God today in the reminder of the existence and purpose of our Guardian Angels.

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God’s Care

Posted by eph21920 on October 1, 2015 in Answer, Faith, Family, Prayer

My dad called early this morning with the great news that he was being released from the hospital. When my mom and I arrived, we passed by the chapel. My mom had not been there before, so we went in and spent a few minutes. We included intercessions to St. Therese of Lisieux, as it is her feast day today. She has special meaning for us as she is the saint that my sister was named after. When we got to my dad’s room, we found him more than ready to go. He was half way dressed and having a discussion with the nurse about what medications he needed before he left. Once that was all figured out, we were on our way home. He slept on and off for most of the day, but so far, so good. He has had some pretty rough hospital stays within the past few months and most of the problems are due to his high blood pressure. It always runs high when he is in the hospital and in the past, they have given him medication to make it go down. Then it goes too low and they gave him medication to make it go back up. It has really messed him up and this is understandably a concern for him when he is admitted. Back at home, he told me that during the night, his blood pressure went up which made the staff return to check it often. My dad then got no sleep, was worried about it and afraid that they would not let him go home. This of course made it stay high. He said he laid and thought about this for about 3 hours. Then he prayed and fell asleep. When he woke up, his doctor came in and said not to worry about it – that he would release him and he should go home and get back to his normal routine and medications. My dad said this was exactly what he hoped he would hear from his doctor. His blood pressure went down and he was good to go. I was so grateful for this outcome and that God really showed my dad how much he cares about him.

I Found God today in a powerfully answered prayer for my dad.

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And Exhale

Posted by eph21920 on September 30, 2015 in Faith, Family, Grateful, Healing, Humor, Laughter, Sick

Today was the day my dad had his pacemaker implanted. It was an early morning as we made our way to the hospital in the dark. My mom stayed at the house with my sister. My dad was one of the first to have a procedure done, along with 2 other men. They checked in together and were brought back to the prep room together. I think it helped them all to be a bit less stressed. Of course, all the people were very nice and some remembered us from my mom’s procedure just a few months ago. Once my dad was whisked away, his doctor came out to the waiting room to find me only 1 hour later. He assured me that everything went very well and that the pacemaker will keep his heart rate from dropping below 60 beats per minute. When I went back to see my dad, he was just waking up. He tried to stretch his neck to see the incision and when he found he couldn’t, he asked for a mirror so he could see it. I did not have a mirror, but I did have my cell phone. So I took a picture to show him. He examined it as carefully as he could while still coming out of sedation. Later he suggested I send the picture to the family members who I texted throughout the day. I am sure they appreciated it. Once he got to his room, we relaxed for a bit. I was glued to the heart monitor as my dad dozed. The pulse stayed a steady 60. Once in a while it would drop a little, then pick right back up and stay at 60 again. When he woke more and moved around, it went up a little as was his normal. It made me wonder just how long this elusive problem has been occurring. He was feeling pretty good pretty fast and was eager to eat lunch. Then I went home and picked up my mom and sister so they could come for a visit. The first thing we noticed when we walked in to see my dad dozing was the color in his face. There was a marked difference. The same thing happened when my mom had her pacemaker put it. It was obvious that there was more blood flowing through. When my dad woke, he was cheerful and in good spirits. It was great to see him that way. I am sure it was entertaining to watch my slow moving mom with her walker and me pushing my sister with her the broken leg in her wheelchair. We struggled trying to get in and out of the elevator and keep the door open at the same time. At one point, my mom made it out and my sister and I didn’t. We rode to another floor, then back again and got out to see my mom standing there waiting and laughing. It was hysterical to us. It felt like today we all exhaled. Before bed, my mom, sister, and I continued our praying to Our Lady of Lourdes and thanked God for the day.

I Found God today in a successful surgery for my dad and the ability to laugh at our seemingly ridiculous situation.

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Prepared

Posted by eph21920 on September 29, 2015 in Angel, Faith, Family, Healing, Prayer

My dad will be having surgery tomorrow to have a pacemaker implanted. He scheduled it a couple of weeks ago when it was discovered that his heart rate was dropping periodically. He decided to wait until things settled a little – his broken thumb would be well into the healing process and my sister who broke her leg and is staying with us will have had a few weeks to gain strength and be more independent. He had some questions regarding the procedure, so first thing this morning, he called two different doctor offices, then waited for the response. Early in the afternoon, both offices called back within minutes of each other. My dad was happy to get his questions answered. Then we went to run some errands that he wanted to get taken care of. After dinner, we all said a prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes and blessed ourselves with holy water. I packed some things to be ready for the early morning rise. Before bed, I said a prayer to St. Michael the Archangel as today is the Feast Day. He is one of my all time most powerful intercessors. I think we are all as ready as we are going to be.

I Found God today in the ability to prepare well for my dad’s surgery, then to be able to trust God with the rest.

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Made it Through

Posted by eph21920 on September 28, 2015 in Home, Life, Sick

I woke up early this morning with the makings of a migraine. Today I was to take my sister to an important doctor appointment about an hour and a half away. She also needed to deliver some things to her son who is starting a new job. I knew if we did not get out there, it would be very difficult to try to get these things taken care of. So, I went out for a walk and got some fresh air. I said a prayer to Our Lady of Lourdes and blessed myself with holy water. After loading the car with the wheelchair and other necessities, my sister made it out of the house with her crutches – a new found skill she is learning, and off we went. It didn’t take too long until I started to feel better. We accomplished all that needed to happen and had lunch in the park. It was great to feel the warm sun and cool breeze at the same time. Then we headed back. Amazingly, there was no traffic backup. It seems any time we go in and out of the city, the traffic is terrible. This trip we made in excellent time. We thanked God for that, and for our safe trip. I am especially happy to be getting to bed early tonight.

I Found God today in feeling better to be able to take care of things that needed to be done.

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Affirming and Encouraging

Posted by eph21920 on September 27, 2015 in Answer, Faith, Pope, Struggles

Today I watched the final day of the coverage of Pope Francis in our country. I was very moved seeing him meet with some inmates in a prison. He told them that the path of life makes us dirty. He said that Jesus does not ask what we have done in the past, but wants to cleanse all of us so that we can move forward in a positive direction. Pope Francis said that he was the first one in that line. Some of the inmates handcrafted the chair that the pope sat in. It was beautiful and you could see that the pope was very impressed by it. Another thing that struck me was Pope Francis telling the inmates that part of the reason he was there was to share in their pain. He has the same message for those who have been affected by the abuse scandal within the Catholic Church. Sometimes, all the things of life can seem so overwhelming to me. So much so that I become discourage or feel like I cannot make a difference. At Mass later in the evening, Pope Francis said that we can show our love for one another just by doing small things. “These little gestures are those we learn at home, in the family; they get lost amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each day different. They are the quiet things done by mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children. They are little signs of tenderness, affection and compassion. Like the warm supper we look forward to at night, the early lunch awaiting someone who gets up early to go to work. Homely gestures.Like a blessing before we go to bed, or a hug after we return from a hard day’s work. Love is shown by little things, by attention to small daily signs which make us feel at home. Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by love. That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to become faith.” Once again, Pope Francis has the words to help me – us – to get on the right path.

I Found God today in words of encouragement and affirmation by Pope Francis.

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What About You

Posted by eph21920 on September 26, 2015 in Faith, Life, Pope, Saint, Service

I was grateful to watch so much coverage of Pope Francis again today. Everything he says and does is so rich, relevant, and full of love. Today I will focus on only one message that has been with me all day – “What About You?” When Pope Francis spoke at Mass in Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Philadelphia this morning, he talked about St. Katharine Drexel. She was born into a wealthy family in Philadelphia in 1858. Her family took part in serving the needy both monetarily and through physically working with them. Eventually, Katharine found that what was needed was more man power. She and her sisters were granted a private audience with the pope at the time – Pope Leo XIII – and he challenged her to become a missionary herself – which she did. She established a religious congregation – the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament – and worked with the native and African Americans. She also gave millions of dollars to meet their needs. Her decision was very counter-cultural at the time, and even now. From what people saw, she had everything. Yet, she gave it all away and spent her life serving others. The big message that Pope Francis was relaying was – “What about you?” Just as Pope Leo XIII challenged Katharine, our pope is challenging each of us today. We cannot rely on government or other people to do the work that God is calling us to do as individuals. We know what is right and cannot sit on the sidelines waiting – or wishing – for someone else to take care of things. I know there have been times in my life when God was nudging me to take action, asking me, “What about you?” I also realize that I did not always take the action. I know I need a spiritual director that I can confide in to help discern what exactly God is asking me to do. What About YOU?

I Found God today in a beautiful reminder by Pope Francis that each of us has to contribute to bringing about good in this world.

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