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Track Trade Show

Posted by eph21920 on February 1, 2025 in Car, Family, Fun, Grateful, Joy, Life, Relationship

A couple months ago, my grandson bought himself a little sprint car to race at the local dirt track. He has been learning all about it and figuring out how to get it up and running. Yesterday he surprised me by asking if I wanted to go to a trade show with him. It was happening at the racetrack. I told him I would love to. So we set out early this morning as there was a seminar he wanted to attend. On the way there, I remembered how much time I spent at the racetrack when I was a teenager. My boyfriend was on a pit crew for one of the stock cars, so a friend and I would tag along. We had a lot of fun. When my grandson and I arrived at the tradeshow, he even paid for my admission. We looked around and he talked to a couple of people. Unfortunately, the seminar didn’t happen. But hopefully he got some good information. I felt honored that he invited me to go with him. I very much enjoyed my time with him and was again feeling very grateful for our relationship.

I Found God today in my relationship with my grandson.

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Sharing Grief

Posted by eph21920 on January 31, 2025 in Faith, Family, Friends, Grateful, Grief, Love, Relationship

I thought I had scheduled a Mass intention for my dad to be celebrated yesterday. However, when I looked at the church bulletin, it was actually today. That turned out fine, because I definitely would not have wanted to go out in the weather yesterday. When I got to the church today, I saw a friend there. I sat with her and we hugged. I knew it was an important anniversary for her as well, but couldn’t remember for sure. We talked after Mass and she confirmed that her husband died exactly 1 year before my dad. She was there remembering him and I was there remembering my dad. It was also the anniversary of the death of another friend’s mother. We exchanged notes of grief and encouragement. I think when we are going through something very difficult it gives us empathy for those experiencing a similar situation. And at the same time, we feel the love and encouragement from others instead of feeling like we’re alone. I certainly felt blessed.

I Found God today sharing grief.

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Pondering and Healing

Posted by eph21920 on January 30, 2025 in Connected, Death, Eternity, Faith, Family, Grief, Healing, Life

I woke up this morning not feeling very good. I have had kind of a cold thing lingering in the background for a while. So I was actually happy that it resembled a blizzard outside. I cancelled the 2 appointments I had, pulled on a couple layers, and got cozy. Today also marks the third year anniversary of my dad’s death. Perhaps that also has been lingering in the background. Not wanting to do absolutely nothing all day, I checked my email. My heart was warmed as I received a note from a good family friend missing his “little buddy” and asking how we were all doing. Then I decided to go through more of the paperwork that is scattered throughout the house. I picked a pile that included my parent’s files of important information. I opened each file envelope to see what needed to be kept and what could be shredded. The folders included my parent’s old driver’s licenses, passports, college transcripts, birth certificates, marriage certificate, and military paperwork. My dad kept everything. I pondered their full and adventurous lives and shed a few tears. I also shredded a pile of medical billing statements that included way too much information. I preferred to think about their joyful lives before all the medical issues and was happy to see that paperwork go. The time spent was somewhat cathartic and peaceful as I thought about them now in a whole different, tranquil, spiritual way of being.

I Found God today remembering my parents.

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Waiting for the Sun

Posted by eph21920 on January 29, 2025 in Connected, Happiness, Knowledge, Opportunity

A friend of mine is the chaplain of the St. John Henry Newman Chapel and Catholic Student Center located at the college here in the city. I have gone there a couple times for Mass and met some of the people there. I thought volunteering there would be a good, productive way to spend some of my time. I talked with the staff a little bit about how I might be able to help. The other day the Campus Minister asked if I could take some photos – particularly of the outside of the building. I brought my camera there today. I heard some of my dad’s photography instructions in my head as I walked around looking for the best angles. It was partly cloudy, so once I saw a good view I waited for the sun to shine on the building. When I got home, I went through and edited the photos. I was pretty happy with a couple of them. I truly enjoyed being outside, taking pictures, and feeling connected to my dad.

I Found God today connecting with a joyful hobby and with my dad.

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Staying Vigil

Posted by eph21920 on January 28, 2025 in Connected, Death, Faith, Family, Prayer, Saint

Today is the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas. It reminds me of when I was staying with my dad in his last days, wondering if his patron saint would call him home on this day. It was 2 more days til my dad died. I was happy to find this prayer as I find myself staying vigil once again.

St Thomas Aquinas Prayer
O merciful God,

grant that I may ever perfectly

do Your Will in all things.

Let it be my ambition to work

only for Your honor and glory.

Let me rejoice in nothing

but what leads to You,

nor grieve for anything

that leads away from You.

May all passing things

be as nothing in my eyes,

and may all that is Yours

be dear to me,

and You, my God,

dear above them all.

May all joy be

meaningless without You

and may I desire

nothing apart from You.

May all labor and toil

delight me when it is for You.

Make me, O Lord,

obedient without complaint,

poor without regret,

patient without murmur,

humble without pretense,

joyous without frivolity,

and truthful without disguise.

Give me, O God,

an ever watchful heart

which nothing can ever

lure away from You;

a noble heart,

which no unworthy affection

can draw downwards to the earth;

an upright heart,

which no evil can warp;

an unconquerable heart,

which no tribulation can crush;

a free heart,

which no perverted affection

can claim for its own.

Bestow on me, O God,

understanding to know You,

diligence to seek You,

and wisdom to find You;

a life which may please You,

and a hope which may

embrace You at the last.

Amen

I Found God today remembering my dad and praying with his patron saint.

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Seeing Relief

Posted by eph21920 on January 27, 2025 in Doctor, Friends, Grateful, Healing, Home, Struggles

A friend who is also a neighbor had successful major abdominal surgery last week. This was to complete a previous surgery. However, she had been struggling with pain and nausea. She ended up staying in the hospital a couple days longer than anticipated, but came home yesterday afternoon. I went to the store today and picked up a couple of things for them. When I dropped them off, I was able to talk with her husband for a few minutes. He said that she is doing so much better than the last surgery. She had a good night’s sleep. She was eating small portions. She was sent home with only half the amount of medications. And his caregiving duties were minimal. I was so glad to hear this and see him. He looked tired, but also much better than he did when his wife had the emergency surgery so many months ago. I could see the relief in his face.

I Found God in healing.

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Sharing Cells

Posted by eph21920 on January 26, 2025 in Answer, Baby, Connected, Creation, Faith, Life, Mary

Today I heard a fascinating presentation about the somewhat recent discovery of how the baby in the womb shares cells with his or her mother. It’s called microchimerism. It’s been known that mother and baby share cells through the placenta. However, recently scientists found that a woman who carried a male baby had the male Y chromosome in her bloodstream, and even residing in her brain decades later. The affect of these cells is unclear, though some think they can be beneficial to the mother’s health, or potentially cause an immune response. Although we may think we are autonomous individuals, the fact is that we are carrying cells from our mother’s and potentially even from her mother’s and previous ancestors. It boggles the mind.  To take this discovery even further into faith, the presenter noted that this meant that Mary the mother of Jesus had some of His cells in her body. The Catholic Church has believed for 2000 years that when Mary’s life came to an end on this Earth, she was Assumed bodily into Heaven. There are even manuscripts dating back to the 3rd century that taught this. The woman who shared the information said the fact of this cell sharing really strengthened her faith in the Assumption. Since Mary carried Jesus’ – God’s – actual physical cells, it makes sense that her body would not go through dying and decomposing, but be taken directly into Heaven. It was truly a compelling and beautiful presentation.

I Found God today learning about microchimerism and how it connects to faith.

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The Sweatshirt

Posted by eph21920 on January 25, 2025 in Connected, Faith, Friends, Generosity, Grateful, Life, Past, Youth

Since we are in the throws of winter, it is cold and occasionally snowy outside. I’m trying to conserve energy and cost by keeping the thermostat down. To me, it is also cold in the house, so I wear my layers. I was looking for a warm and comfortable top layer and came across a large, thick sweatshirt. It came from a Youthfest that I took some of the high school students from the church to 18 years ago. First of all, I couldn’t believe it was that long ago. Then I remembered what wonderful annual events they were for the youth and adults alike. They were organized by some of the youth ministers that I knew and admired as prayerful, faithful, and fun people. I was always grateful for their friendship and guidance. This particular year, the staff were wearing the sweatshirts that they designed. I told one of the guys that I would really like one if they happened to have any extra. At the end of the event, I was surprised when he found me with the confiscated sweatshirt. He was always very gracious to me in the different times that our paths would cross. I actually reached out to him today to share the memory and thank him again. He remembered the event and the good times of that era, but didn’t remember giving me the sweatshirt. It was a small token, but meaningful to me. I thought there were probably hundreds of small good deeds that he did for people, not realizing how meaningful they were. I think that is the blessing of humble service.

I Found God today in a sweatshirt that brought back many great memories.

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New Music

Posted by eph21920 on January 24, 2025 in Family, Grateful, Music, New, Relationship

The weather was warmish today, so I asked my grandson if he wanted to take a drive up to the cabin with me. He was happy to and even offered to drive his truck. I accepted the offer and he picked me up. The sunshine was so warm on the way up that he even turned off the heater completely. It felt good after the cold and snowy days we have been experiencing. Closer to the cabin, my grandson put his truck in 4-wheel drive as the dirt road was snow packed. There was no problem navigating the twists and turns and ruts and ice patches. I had not been his passenger for such a long drive and was impressed that he was such a good driver. A couple of days ago, one of the outside cameras at the cabin captured a fluffy coyote run across the driveway. So, when we arrived we looked around and found some of the pawprints that remained visible in the melting snow. That was exciting. We did a few things around the cabin and went into town for lunch before heading back. On the way, we talked about music and my grandson said that one of his favorite bands was Nothing But Thieves. I have heard of them, but didn’t know any of their music. He played several of their songs for me and talked about how some of them were so meaningful to him. I felt very grateful for our time together and the relationship that we have.

I Found God today sharing time and music with my grandson.

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Impact of Illness

Posted by eph21920 on January 23, 2025 in Children, Faith, Grateful, Life, Past, Sick, Struggles

Today I read a post that a friend shared about her young son. He has been struggling for months and recently was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. I knew from first hand experience what that is like. I reflected on my own past as I pondered how to respond to her. These are the thoughts that came up. I basically grew up as a child with an autoimmune disease – juvenile rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed at 4 years old. It was a struggle to function and fit in at all. Everything was hard to do and painful, so much so that some things were impossible. I couldn’t button a button, open a car door, do a zipper, brush my own hair. Kids made fun of me and it was impossible to play sports. I did, however, try to do whatever my family encouraged me to do. I was able to ride a bike and always enjoyed walking and hiking. After my mom brought me to a Holy place – Lourdes – the disease slowly went into remission as a teenager, though all the joints in my body are still crooked. Fast forward almost 60 years. I do my best to keep my body moving. I have learned the value of proper nutrition. I have learned that things and people aren’t always as they seem. My mom did her best to care for me, with the little information and treatment they had at that time and had to watch my struggle every day. Years later I did my best to take care of my mom with the little knowledge and treatment that existed for Parkinson’s Disease. I watched her struggle every day until she was freed from her suffering. Mostly, I know that God loves us in and through every circumstance. This is not a perfect world, but, there is Life on the other side. As I reflected, I became ever more grateful for the things I have learned and experienced because of the illness. I am grateful for the faith my mother passed to me and thankful for God’s love and generosity to give me the life I have.

I Found God today reflecting on the impact of a disease on my life.

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