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Surrendering More – Again

Posted by eph21920 on December 1, 2023 in Uncategorized

We had a particularly rough night with my mom last night. Both my sister and I were up with her for 2 hours as she was frightened, angry, and very confused. We tried all the distractions and redirecting that we could think of with very little effect. Finally after an additional dose of sleep medication we all were able to go back to bed. With the lack of sleep and emotional distress, we were beyond exhausted today. When my mother laid down to take a nap, I tried to rest as well. I put on the Surrender Novena to day 6 which is where I thought I might be in the rotation. This is what it said,

Jesus says, “You are sleepless; you want to judge everything and see to everything and you surrender to human strength, or worse – to men themselves, trusting in their intervention – this is what hinders my words and my views. Oh, how much I wish from you this surrender, to help you; and how I suffer when I see you so agitated. Satan tries to do exactly this: to agitate you and to remove you from my protection and to throw you into the jaws of human initiative. So trust only in me, rest in me, surrender to me in everything.”

As I was thinking about last night, I realized that the only time I asked for God’s intervention was when we finally got my mom back into bed. I resolved to remember to go to Him first thing. I have also been working on getting a caregiver to come in a couple of afternoons during the week. A woman was supposed to start today. However, she did not show up. The representative from the company did come and apologize profusely and said they were going to continue looking for the perfect fit. I was very disappointed and frustrated by this. Then I remembered the Surrender Novena and Jesus’ words today. I’m not sure where this will all lead, but I will try my best to surrender the whole situation to Him, knowing and trusting that He holds us close and has everything under control.

I Found God today in the Surrender Novena.

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Good Fortune

Posted by eph21920 on November 30, 2023 in Food, Friends, Happiness, New

My sister has been busy making her annual delicious coffee toffee. The house smells amazing. Our regular caregiver was here this morning who is from Japan. I got out a piece of toffee for her to try before I left on my errands. When I returned, she said she liked it. She said if you smile when you taste something new, you have good fortune. I love hearing the different perspectives that she shares with us.

I Found God today in a new and positive perspective.

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Four Things That Bring Great Peace

Posted by eph21920 on November 29, 2023 in Answer, Connected, Faith, Jesus, Life, Peace

As I continue to slowly go through “The Imitation of Christ”, I was excited when I saw the title of the next section “Four Things That Bring Great Peace”. It said that Christ offered these things to bring us freedom and peace:

Try to do the will of another rather than your own.

Always choose to have less rather than more.

Always seek to take the last place, and to be subject to everyone.

Always desire and pray that the will of God may be fulfilled in you perfectly.

These are challenging statements and actions for sure. But, the more I thought about how Jesus lived, the more I realized he did exactly these things. And He was the epitome of freedom and peace. If I truly desire peace, this is the path that has been laid out.

I Found God today in a path to peace.

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Gifts For Elderly

Posted by eph21920 on November 28, 2023 in Advent, Connected, Faith, Family, Grateful, Present, Shopping

Every year I choose 3 tags from the church’s giving tree at Christmas time. I have been choosing kids that are the same age as my grandchildren. Then my grandchildren come shopping with me to pick out the gifts. This weekend as I was perusing the tree, I learned that the parish chose to give to elderly in nursing homes and memory care centers. My heart was moved. I still wanted to include my grandchildren in helping and wondered how I could do that. Then I found a tag with a request for nail polish. I figured my granddaughter would certainly love to help choose that. I found another tag that was a request for men’s sweatpants. My teenage grandson could help with that one. Then I found a tag with a request for a St. Anthony statue and prayer card. My older grandson’s middle name and Confirmation name is Anthony. Perfect. I picked him up today and we went to the Catholic store in the mall where we found a statue and some prayer cards. I also picked up some Advent calendars and candles so we’ll all be prepared. Then we walked around the mall a bit just because. I loved spending this bit of time with my grandson and am blessed that he still indulges me.

I Found God today picking out spiritual gifts with my grandson.

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100 and Still Walking

Posted by eph21920 on November 27, 2023 in Faith, Friends, Happiness, Hope, Life

Today our friend came over and played the piano with mom. We read some of a local Catholic publication while we finished off the Thanksgiving pie. I came across an article about a woman who turned 100 years old. She joined her local parish when it started, about 70 years ago. Her son was an altar server at the church’s first Christmas Mass. She still lives a little less than a mile from the church and walks to Mass every Sunday. She said she used to walk to attend daily Mass, but then that got too hard. Our friend attends daily Mass at a church near her and told us about a woman there who is 96 years old. She lives in some apartments nearby and walks when the weather is not bad. Our friend says she thinks the woman is trying to reach 100 as well. I was in awe of the resilience of these faithful women.

I Found God today in resilient, faithful women.

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A Day Out

Posted by eph21920 on November 26, 2023 in Family, Fun, Generosity, Grateful

Today I was treated to an NFL game by my sons and grandson. I knew it was going to be super cold, so I put on all my layers, boots, hats, wool mittens, and borrowed my sister’s long down coat. We arrived at the football field extremely early to tailgate. The guys had packed up my son’s truck with a grill and all the stuff that was needed. My older son cooked a hash brown, sausage, and egg scramble for breakfast and my younger son grilled the burgers and hot dogs for lunch. All I did was eat their food, drink the drinks they brought, and say thank you. Then we went inside to the game. The seats they got were only 14 rows back from the field. It was a great game and a fun atmosphere. And our team won. Back at home my sister had a relatively quiet day with our mom. I was grateful for such a wonderful day out.

I Found God today enjoying a day out.

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Blessed By Neighbors

Posted by eph21920 on November 25, 2023 in Friends, Generosity, Grateful

It was frigid and snowy yesterday which left a thin layer of icy snow on the walkways and driveways. Early this morning I heard some commotion and saw my neighbor sweeping off our porch staircase. She had already done our shared sidewalk. I opened the door and thanked her and noticed the beautiful white trees glistening against the deep blue sky. I put on my boots and coat, grabbed my camera, and went out the garage to take a few photos. There was another neighbor out there shoveling the driveway for an older gentleman who is caring for his daughter who has cancer. We exchanged hellos and I went back to the front to finish sweeping off our porch. Once that was done, I followed the sidewalk to where it met the driveway and started clearing it there. The older gentleman had come out and said how surprised he was to find his driveway has been shoveled. The neighbor who had done that, came over to help me. Then the older gentleman came to help too since he was “all dressed up with nowhere to go.” So many blessing were shared first thing this morning.

I Found God today in the blessing of neighbors.

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Shared Experience

Posted by eph21920 on November 24, 2023 in Answer, Connected, Family, Friends, Grateful, Life, Struggles

After my post yesterday, I read several others from people who also had a “different” Thanksgiving. They also expressed their gratitude for those loved ones in their lives. So many times we all want to put our happy face out on social media. And I think it is good to be optimistic and have a positive attitude. At the same time, there is value in sharing our struggles. I know I was encouraged hearing about how others shared in a similar situation as me. It helped me not to feel so alone in the experience. And it helped me to keep my focus on what is truly important – the loved ones around us at each moment.

I Found God today in shared experiences.

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“Different” Thanksgiving

Posted by eph21920 on November 23, 2023 in Family, Food, Grateful, Home, Life, Relationship, Struggles

Mom gets easily overwhelmed these days, so we talked about how we could make Thanksgiving a little more calm for her. We decided to just have dinner here with me, my sister, and my mom. Then later, my son, his wife and kids and my other son and his girlfriend came over for dessert. We had many wonderful treats. Then some of the group went outside to play football. My daughter in law and I talked about how holidays are “different” now. When we all lived out east, I went to her mom’s house many years for Thanksgiving. Then we played Monopoly while others went through ads and planned out their shopping route for the next day. Things changed when I moved, then during COVID and have never been the same. Everyone moved out here, my dad passed away, and this year my daughter in law’s mother died. It was another “different” year for us and her sisters. We talked about how important it is to accept how we are able to celebrate and be grateful for those who we are with. We enjoyed being all together for the short visit and it all seemed to work out just right for my mom. I am grateful to spend another Thanksgiving with her. I am grateful that my sister is here. I am most grateful for our loving God who cares for us all so well.

I Found God today grateful for this Thanksgiving day.

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Pie Teamwork

Posted by eph21920 on November 22, 2023 in Family, Food, Joy

Today when my mom’s nurse came over, I told her we were going to make pies. She asked my mom if she enjoyed baking. My mom said she didn’t do it very much because she grew up in a bakery. We did make pumpkin and apple pies together this afternoon. She kept me straight on the recipes and I got them all put together. They came out beautiful. We made a good team and enjoyed the time and activity together.

I Found God today making pies with my mom.

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