Wondrous Wednesdays (3)

In the spirit of gratitude, I’m going to be listing wondrous things happening in my world every week on Wednesday.  I chose to list three things because Wednesday is the third day of the week.  If you are a blogger and want to list what you are grateful for, feel free to do the same on your own blog every week and please be sure to link back to my blog.   If you are not a blogger, feel free to comment here on my blog with your own three wondrous things you are grateful for on Wednesday. 

(1)
My 11 month old baby girl can climb up a whole flight of stairs!  She's doing the physical things much earlier than her big sister, partly because we were probably overly cautious, partly because her big sister didn't have another little person showing her how things work.  I'm also amazed at how quickly Hannah can crawl to get into things she shouldn't - ie. banging on a glass door, getting into the dog's food dish and getting into the bathroom if we happen to leave the door open.  Hannah is going to be a fun, mischievous child!

(2)
I'm thankful that the news we were waiting for didn't turn out to be bad news.  The morning we received news that we would have to wait to get our answer, I had just heard how sometimes timing isn't what we want, but we have to sometimes be patient and keep relationships strong.  The timing of this message, which was on Catholic radio, was perfect - God sent!  So hopefully this is just a delay in the good news.  I'm praying that it will all happen in God's time.  Just need to hang onto the hope and have faith that things will get better.

(3)
I am hoping to make a wondrous veggie lasagna tonight.  I have made it in the past, but I never following an actual recipe so it is always a surprise.  When I see eggplant and zucchini or other veggies I use on sale at the store, I get what I need and get to it.  It never turns out the same, but it usually is quite delicious.  Excited about food, well there's a surprise! 

 

Dragged by the Nose or Led by the Heart*

So this Sunday I was completely inattentive at Mass.  For some reason Alicia decided to sit near me and she drove me to distraction.  I can't even really recall what it was she was doing.  The few things I do remember is that from the opening song, where she was lying down in the pew, I wanted her to at least SIT.  It was a struggle to say the least.  Holding Hannah with Alicia sitting next to us didn't work well for my participation or mental presence during Mass. 

At one point Alicia wanted her crackers and then Hannah had to have some. Alicia started feeding Hannah some and then I did a few, at which point totally without thought, I ate the rest of one of the goldfish that Hannah had because, well, it was crumbling into small pieces.  The second I put it in my mouth I thought, oh no.  I can't go to communion now.  What the...  Having missed mass last week and messing up my chance for communion this week, I was torn because I really wanted to just go up and receive communion like it was no big deal.  But it IS a big deal - this is THE LORD!  So what did I do?  I went up with everyone during communion, when I got to Fr. G I just crossed my hands over my chest for a blessing and went back to my seat.  *sigh* 

So today I thought, what did Fr. G talk about during the homily anyway?!  I couldn't recall the readings at all and knew that I probably only heard one or two words he said during his homily.  Thankfully, our parish puts the homilies online for later listening.  I definitely needed to revisit what happened.  I was really glad I did.  (I should probably go back and check out the readings too!)

The gospel reading was the passage where Peter was walking on the water during a big storm and the second he took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on himself and his surroundings, he started sinking. 

So, our pastor talked a lot about change, stormy times.  Definitely appropriate with what's going on in our lives right now.  And definitely appropriate with what is taken place in his life as a pastor and our collective life as a community.  It amazes me how he always strikes a chord with me and can speak to what's happening in my life.  I will miss that about him. 

I know that right now, I'm purposefully not focusing on myself and my surroundings, my situation.  There is not much good that would come of it.  I am trusting that God has a plan for us.  So, right now we live with my parents.  Sometimes stuff happens that you don't intend.  I don't want to get "caught up in the drama" as Fr. G put it.  I refuse to be led by the nose.  Rather, I want to be led by the heart.  I know that I have love surrounding me.  I know that I need to keep my focus on the Lord.  He will show us a path; we need to trust in Him, not look at ourselves and our situation, panic and lose focus.  He will help us through the storms.  HE has a plan.

Fr. G also mentioned our old church back on Wason Road and likened it to a wooden dinghy with cracks and leaks and our new church to a beautiful luxury liner, although not without it's own problems and storms.  The part that struck me most from his homily:  "It's not the vessel, but it's the wind in the sails - the Holy Spirit.  Not a well charted plan it is trust in the One who leads us."*  This is what is important.  Not the house where we live, not a plan that we chart.  What is important is trusting in God.  This is what gives me hope.

*Fr. Gary Belliveau, 8/7/11

Hope Doesn't Disappoint

This weekend while at a funeral mass for a friend's loved one, these words rang true to me during the homily.  "Hope doesn't disappoint!" The priest was advising those present to not mourn or grieve like those who have no hope.  We must keep hope alive and as a Catholic we find that hope in the Eucharist.  "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." John 6:55   The priest said that the Eucharist is not food and drink for saints; it is there to nourish us!  Praise God!

For anyone going through difficult times, hope is crucial.  Whether it is mourning the loss of a loved one, financial difficulty or a long awaited miracle, we must look ahead toward better days with hope.  If we don't have hope, we can become filled with self-pity or despair.   Every night, our almost three year old "reads" a book called, "The blue day book."  It is a short story that goes through what blue days are, accompanied by cute and silly pictures of all kinds of animals.  There is a part that talks about that hope, "The world is full of amazing discoveries, things you can't even imagine now.  Who knows what fantastic things are in store just around the corner?"

We all must wait in anticipation for what's to happen next and I think it is important for us to realize, WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL.  While we can try to position ourselves for the best possible outcome, God is the one in control.  When I worked at NH Catholic Charities, I heard the saying, "Let go and let God!"  I had never heard it before then, and didn't ever really have any reason to think about this saying more.  But I find myself thinking about it often these days.  We can do our best to "plan" our lives and prepare ourselves or do it OUR way, but God's plan is way better than anything we can even imagine.  We have to trust and hope in Him.

Yet another sign we watch a bit too much TV, there is a song in the Veggie Tales Movie "Josh and the Big Wall" that is relevant here:


The Lord has given this land to us
No need to fuss, He knows what He's doing
We know that He will take care of us
If we will follow Him.

For anyone struggling through a difficult time right now, know that God DOES have a plan for you.  He WILL take care of you.  Just trust in Him and follow him.  God has given us the gifts of faith, hope and love. 

Go to the Eucharist for nourishment and know that HOPE DOESN'T DISAPPOINT!