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Jubilee Year of Hope

Posted by eph21920 on January 2, 2025 in Answer, Begin, Bible, Connected, Faith, Forgiveness, Hope, Life, New, Opportunity, Pope, Tradition

Today I read an article in the Word Among us about the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope that was proclaimed by Pope Francis. The history of a jubilee year goes back thousands of years to the Old Testament. Leviticus 25:8-55  describes a jubilee year to be celebrated every 50 years. Simply put, it was a time to heal old wounds, release those in bondage, extend forgiveness, and lift up those who are suffering. This is what Pope Francis is asking all people to participate in, moving forward in hope. There was a poem by Emily Dickinson that invoked a beautiful image;

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all.

The article likened the image to the Holy Spirit as written by St. Paul to the Romans 5:5;

Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

I was pleasantly surprised as I read, since part of my reflection yesterday was based on hope. I guess I was on the right track.

I Found God today reminded of the importance of hope in the world.

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Thinking of 2025

Posted by eph21920 on January 1, 2025 in Begin, Creation, Faith, Family, Friends, Grateful, Grief, Hope, Life, Love, New, Opportunity, Past

Coming to the end of the year gave me good reason to reflect back and look forward as perhaps many people do. I have seen several suggestions and ideas of how to do this. It is helpful to me to process through and write things down. I’m going to try to make it simple – not being harsh on myself and being as realistic as possible.

Gratitude is particularly helpful to keep a positive mindset and energy. I am grateful for my parents who taught me so much in life and in death, for loving people who cared for my mom, for the support of staff at the local aging center, for the gift of faith, for good friends who have always been present near and far, for my son getting engaged to the love of his life, for spending more time with and rekindling relationships with my sons, daughter in law, and grandchildren, for still having weekly Zooms with my siblings as we do our best to love each other through difficult years, for the wonderful community I live in, for people who reach out, for rest, for the beauty and breath of nature, for my own physical body and the capabilities it has.

I also do not want to stay stuck in old ways that are not good for me and those around me. It is difficult. The first thing I need to do is be aware when I am doing or saying something that is less than loving to myself or someone else. Then, correct it ASAP.

As I wait for the Lord to help me know what the next phase of my life will look like, friends, family, and others have helped me to think about what I would like to do more of: spend time with friends, visit far away family and friends, read, listen to music, do crafts, walk, play the piano, take photographs, talk less and listen more, go on a retreat.

I think this post is one that I should come back to over and over again. Especially when I’m feeling sad, lonely, or depressed. I can be  reminded of the multiple blessings I have and perhaps get energy to do the next thing. I was reminded today of one of my favorite scriptures as I continue to do my best to trust God with my life.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I Found God today grateful for His blessings and looking forward to His plan for my life.

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Make a Peaceful New Year

Posted by eph21920 on December 30, 2024 in Answer, Grateful, Life, Peace

This morning I watched the local news. They had a conversation with Victoria Reynolds, author and family trauma expert. She shared some advice on how to make 2025 a little more peaceful. According to Victoria, an attitude of gratitude can shift just about any situation. She suggested that when things inevitably don’t go the way we anticipated, instead of reacting, we should stop and ask ourselves, “What can I be grateful for in this moment?” There truly is so much to be grateful for and this is something I have been trying to do more of. I found this bit of advice particularly helpful.

I Found God today reminded to be grateful.

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Holy Family

Posted by eph21920 on December 29, 2024 in Answer, Bible, Children, Connected, Faith, Family, Relationship

As it does every year, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Family the week after Christmas. The Gospel was Luke 2:41-52 – the only account we have of Jesus’ childhood. The family was in Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. But on their way back, travelling in a caravan, Mary and Joseph discovered that Jesus was not with them. They went back to Jerusalem and found him in the temple talking with the priests. During the homily, it was noted that when Jesus’ parents found him, his mother said to him,
“Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”           During his homily, the priest pointed out the words of Mary – “your father and I”. He explained that Mary set an example for us even in that statement. She spoke of her husband first, then herself. In this Holy Family, she was putting others before herself. The priest went on to challenge each family to do the same. Instead of being the one who needs the attention, or the one who has to be right in a situation, or the one that expects others to make them happy, we should be the one lifting up the other, letting things go that should be, and doing good for others. As I looked around the church, I noticed all the different families. I was blessed to be there with my son and his fiancee. In front of us was a husband, wife, and two little girls. Behind us was an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair accompanied by an elderly woman and a man. A few pews ahead, there was a family with the mom nursing a baby. I noticed the chatter of a couple unhappy children and parents trying to calm them. There were some single people as well. I thought of them as part of the larger church family. I thought of my parents who have left this earth and their family members who I pray they are with right now. That reminded me that we believe in the Communion of Saints – all those who have loved and served God. I can’t even imagine how many that would be, but we are all part of that family as well. I have heard it said that we are each children of God. I think that is the most amazing and Holy family that we can be a part of.

I Found God today pondering a Holy Family.

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Work of Christmas

Posted by eph21920 on December 28, 2024 in Answer, Begin, Life, Present

A friend shared a quote today that I really loved. Let our work begin.

The Work of Christmas by Howard Thurman

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and the princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flocks,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost

To heal the broken

To feed the hungry

To release the prisoner

To rebuild the nations

To being peace among the people

To make music in the heart.

I Found God today receiving admonition of the work that we should be doing.

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The Little Mermaid

Posted by eph21920 on December 27, 2024 in Family, Fun, Happiness, Music

As a Christmas gift for my granddaughter, I got tickets for the live performance of The Little Mermaid at our local Fine Arts Center. Tonight my daughter in law, granddaughter, my sister and I all went to the show. It was a true musical with very little dialogue – mostly singing. For many of the roles, there was a constumed person who worked a puppet that looked like the real character such as Flounder the fish and Sebastian the crab. The play was visually stunning, the singing was amazing, and the dancing was entertaining. We all had a great time.

I Found God today enjoying an evening of fun and talent.

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Mountain Climbing

Posted by eph21920 on December 26, 2024 in Answer, Creation, Faith, Grateful, Life, Struggles

This morning I listened to a reflection by Matt Maher on the Hallow app. He brought up the fact that, “There is a tension between the joy of the Christmas season and the difficulties that so many of us continue to experience.” He introduced his song based upon the folk song, “Go Tell It On The Mountain”, as a way to praise God in the midst of whatever mountains we may be climbing. I pondered this for a while. I thought about not only my current struggles, but those of my loved ones and of those I don’t know in war torn countries. It is a difficult thing as old as time itself. And probably one of the hardest things to do is to praise God when it hurts and/or feels so distressful. But one thing I know about mountains is that the climb can be tedious and even scary at times. But, once you get to the top, it is all worth it. The view and scenery is incredible. And you can see where you came from and be grateful for your perseverance. So, we just keep climbing – one step at a time, sometimes hand over foot – and hanging onto God who is guiding us. He doesn’t leave us to do it on our own. That is why we can praise Him even when we may not necessarily feel like it.

I Found God today thinking about His presence in mountain climbing.

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A Different Christmas

Posted by eph21920 on December 25, 2024 in Connected, Faith, Family, Food, Fun, Grateful, Grief, Joy, Laughter, Love, Music, Tradition

After much anticipation, Christmas arrived. Yesterday I kept myself busy cooking and baking and delivering goodies. I made my mom’s Christmas bread which she made every year. This year I was on my own. I asked her for help particularly to determine if the dough was the right consistency. It did turn out a little different, but was still delicious. I visited my mom’s piano friend and we exchanged bread for peppermint roll dessert which has been a tradition for years. It was wonderful to see her and a joy to exchange goodies. At night I went to church with my son. For the past few years, it has been just the 2 of us for Christmas Mass, so it kind of felt like tradition. We got there early enough to hear extra music. Before and during the celebration, I believe we went through every traditional Christmas song and I loved it. This morning, my other son texted me early to let me know that he, his wife, and the kids were up as I was going to join them. As I headed over there, the sun was just coming up and the sky was glowing pink, which then reflected on the mountains. As I was taking in the view, a song on the radio was playing a boisterous “Hallelujah”. It was a beautiful way to start the day. When I arrived at my son’s, everyone opened family and Santa gifts. There was plenty of joy and laughter between the 6 of us and the 2 dogs. My granddaughter was so excited to receive an electronic piano keyboard. I was happy to take some time with her to show her some basic techniques as she pulled up easy tutorial songs on her iPad. For breakfast I shared some Christmas bread and deviled eggs that I made, which was added to the quiche and cinnamon rolls they had. A little later we Zoomed with my family and opened the family secret Santa gifts. It was a tradition that was started many years ago. My dad was the first coordinator of the exchange and did so for many years.  This year, one sister and her husband was in Florida, one in Texas visiting her son and his wife, one brother was in Idaho by himself with COVID, and the other was in his winter digs in Arizona making a pie for the community Christmas dinner. It was strange to be all scattered. But I was glad we were able to be connected in some way. In the afternoon, we headed over to my other son’s house where he and his fiancee hosted dinner. They were so happy to provide the majority of the meal, including a smoked ham that was amazing. Then there was more joy and laughter exchanging more gifts. For dessert we had my daughter in law’s mint cheesecake, which she makes every year. While it was a different Christmas, there were many traditions included that helped me feel my parents’ spirit were still part of the celebration, even though there were plenty of moments when I missed their physical presence. I was full of mixed emotions. But more than any, I was grateful for the family I have been blessed with and the love we share – those I can be with physically and those I can connect with spiritually.

I Found God today in the blessing of family during a different kind of Christmas.

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Good Friendships

Posted by eph21920 on December 23, 2024 in Friends, Grateful, Happiness, Life, Struggles

A friend of mine has been struggling with her health and work and life in general. She used to come out when a group of us got together, but she has been unable to for quite some time. But she has stayed in the group chat and always has funny things to share. I was happy that another friend and I were able to visit her today. She was in good spirits and we laughed a lot. She tried to be apologetic about things, but our friend reminded us both that we need to lean on our friends. Especially when we’re going through a hard time. We were just happy to be with her. I was also happy to hear that another mutual friend has been helping her out quite a bit. I felt blessed by the friendships I have.

I Found God today in good friendships.

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God’s Present

Posted by eph21920 on December 22, 2024 in Bible, Connected, Death, Family, Friends, Grateful, Grief, Life, Relationship, Struggles, Trust

I have been trying to stay in a positive mindset over the past couple days even as I seem to be very emotional. I have decided to just let the tears flow and perhaps at some point they will go dry. I have been listening to Advent music while I make yummy treats. The lyrics of certain songs make me well up with tears. So does some of the chant music. But there is something cathartic to me as I stir and melt the chocolate and carefully create different goodies. I have been sharing the treats with friends and neighbors. As we visit, there is always something in the conversation that gets to me. One neighbor shared her health struggles and trying to keep her faith. Another talked about his own grief after losing his parents and lamenting his estranged relationship with his daughter. I received a card from another neighbor whose husband is struggling, yet he made the most beautiful comments in his shaky handwriting. Prayer is always good, but also hits my heart. The tears roll as I contemplate the faith of those involved in the birth of Jesus. I confront my own fears and doubts and am comforted by Scripture or meditations that make me realize how small I am. At Mass this morning, there was an older couple in front of me. One was in a wheelchair and had to be escorted out midway through to use the restroom. Of course, I remembered doing those things with my mom. I tried to give my sorrow to God. Tonight I spent time with my sons and family for a movie night of laughter. On the way home I was joyful and grateful – tears of a different kind. All the while, I feel God’s Presence. I know He is here with me. Particularly when I’m having a rough time, I picture my parents younger and together with their families and with God. I know this will be a different and difficult Christmas, but I’m trying to do the things to keep from becoming overwhelmed.

I Found God today in His loving presence.

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