Everyday Miracles

Last night, I went to sleep and you could see the confused grass beginning to turn green, but not sure if it should.  You could see the roots on the trees, and you could see daisies starting to sprout.  For Minnesota, we've had a warm winter with very little snow, so far, and it's been in the 30's!  That's not normal, but no one was complaining.  There was no white Christmas. We made it through.  No snow meant that traveling was so much easier for families who traveled.

Last night, out of the clear blue sky, not really, it had to be cloudy, snow fell.  When I woke up this morning everything was different.  Nothing was the same.  The grass was covered with the white stuff.  The tree branches were weighted down with snow.  The confused daisies were covered, and, hopefully, they went back to sleep as infants do.

I sat at the table looking at the ravine behind our house.  I don't drink coffee, so I sipped my diet coke.  What a miracle had happened last night!  Everything changed!  God worked a miracle, and we had snow.  I would have preferred staying home, but it was getting late, and I needed to go to Mass.  Driving would be easy.  The salt trucks had been out all night.  No worries there.  Then, as I looked at a bush that was bursting with snow, I realized.

I had nothing to do with this miracle, yet it happened.  God simply took over and gave us this gift.
I looked at the blue sky.  I knew this would make everything colder.  Clouds help to keep us warm.  The blue sky was a beautiful contrast to the white of the snow.    God, the great artist, curator, and creator did this without my help.  I had nothing to do with this beauty, but God did.

Everyday, blessings and consolations from God are poured out from His Love to us.  His gifts are unending, like His love.  Whether it be that the sun gives us warmth and light, or that the sun stays put and we remain in it's orbit.  We are blessed.  Each beat of our heart means that we have life.
Each joy or sorrow helps to shape us into the person we are.  Gifts.  Miracles. 

Think of your heart.  Your heart beats without your control.  Each thump comes from your involuntary nervous system.  You cannot control the beats yourself.  There are devices that might help control the number of beats per minute or devices that open arteries.  Knowledge comes from God.

Thump!  Thump!  Thump!  Thump!

"Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow!"

Ezekiel 34: 15-17

God Answered my Prayers with a Yes!

There was a time that I prayed and asked God to send holy friends, spiritual friends into my life.   If you will recall, He did.

You can read about my Church friend:: "Maureen" HERE.

Now, I'd like to tell you about another friend of mine, named 

"Sandra."

I met "Sandra" at a time in my life, when my husband was afflicted with the cancer that took his life.

We met at Mayo Clinic.

Our children had been friends through high school, but "Sandra" and I had not met until that time.

Her husband was at St. Mary's Hospital having a procedure done.

My husband was there having a stem cell transplant.

We met at a restaurant for lunch.

We knew each other by sight, but I was not prepared for the impact this wonderful woman would have on my life.

"Sandra" and I talked, but she, mostly, listened.

She didn't give advice.

She was there for me.

Trust me, at that time in my life, God sent me someone that I needed, someone to be there.

 

As the years have passed, I have learned so much about Sandra and her spiritual life.

Sandra is very close to God.

Everyday, Sandra reads and studies Sacred Scripture.

Her love of God's word shows in her love for her husband, her children, her grandchildren, and her many, many friends.

 Sandra has told me that even though she doesn't pray the Rosary daily, she is always saying

"Hail Marys."

That's a great way to go!

Sandra is a wonderful prayer partner, too.

We ask each other to pray for our children in times of crisis and calm.

 Sandra feels very strongly that we must share our prayers needs with each other,

but we must also share the joys of our lives, too.

Sandra is an active member of the Catholic Church she attends.

She serves at funerals.

She attends Bible Study classes.

She attends Mass regularly.

In the community, Sandra delivers 

"Meals on Wheels," to the shut ins.

Sandra also does respite care for the elderly at the local community center.

Always active, she will help her friends, when possible.

She travels to and from to help her children.

There is nothing Sandra would not do to help her children.

Her grandchildren are a delight to her.

Sandra lives and gives.

I am truly blessed to have this wonderful woman in my life, as a friend.

Sandra, if you recognize yourself in this post,

I want you to know how grateful I am for your friendship.

Thank you for all your kindnesses to me and my children.

You are a woman of God.

I thank God for you and your friendship

 

 

 

Holy is His Name

"The Mighty One has done great things for me, and Holy is His Name."
 Luke 1: 49

 Mary, the Mother of God, spoke these words as she and her elderly, pregnant cousin praised God for the magnificent gifts God had given them in their children.  Not in ordinary circumstances, for Mary had been told by an angel that she would be the Mother of God, if she chose to accept The Father's invitation to bear His Son.  Mary in all humility only asked, 

"How can this be since I do not know man?
Luke1:34 

After being assured by an angel that 

"Nothing is impossible for God." 
Luke 1:37

Mary replied::  

 “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
Luke 1: 38 

Out of the ordinary, yet quiet and not so ordinary.  No one, except for God the Father and Elizabeth, knew that Mary carried the Son of God in her womb.  This great act of God went unnoticed by those around Mary.  To her family and friends, Mary was a young woman, engaged to a man of faith, named Joseph.  No one suspected anything beyond that, although there was some gossip about Mary's pregnancy.

Joseph and Mary were ordinary citizens in their village. When Mary left her home to live in Joseph's home, Mary became a wife.  As a wife and mother,  Mary made bread for her husband.  Mary wove the cloth that would become the robe of the King of Kings and her husband.  Mary prepared meals for her family.  Mary joined the other women in rejoicing in her pregnancy.  Mary heard the stories of other women who had given birth.  She heard the stories of their babies kicking inside of them. Mary smiled and laughed with the other women in her town as the Holy Child within her grew.

Mary gained weight and began to waddle as she walked.  Her belly grew to accommodate the King of King's and no one suspected.   So ordinary.  The season changed.  The fetus, or "little one," the Son of God, was protected and nurtured by Mother Mary, and no one in the village knew.

The conception of the Son of God, although out of the ordinary for Mary, was ordinary in the eyes of the world.   Mary protected her unborn Son.  She carried Him for 9 months in her body and gave birth to Him away from home.  Yet, His birth was so ordinary and human.  

Mary praised God and blessed Him.  Holy is His Name. 

30 Words - Finding God in the Ordinary

A fly on a stem.

A leaf on a plant.

Where do I find You, O God?

 Your Hand moves through creation.

The great I AM, an Artist!

Our God!

A Love Letter From God

My Beloved Child,
    

Do you realize how much I love you?  You are precious in My eyes.  You are a jewel in the crown of My Mother.  You are a delicate flower moistened by gentle rain on a spring morning.  I hold you in my hand.  Your name really is carved in my palm and  is etched in the stars above heaven. 

    I love you, and I long to be with you.  I crave the moments when we are united in prayer.  I seek you out so that our hearts may be joined as one.  I long to hear about your day.  I long to hear you tell Me that you love Me!  I thirst for you.  I seek to envelope you in My joy, My Love, My Sacred Heart!

    I know you don't see Me, but I AM there with you as you go through your day.  My love only waits for you to open your heart to Me, even just a little, like a tiny violet in the grass on a spring day.  If you but whisper a word, whisper a prayer, I open My Heart to you.  I give you all that I AM. 

    Did you know that when I was hanging on the cross, I saw you?  I looked into your eyes, and I suffered with joy for you. I knew that My death would give you the gift of salvation.  How could I say no when My Father asked Me to die for you?  I love you!  I loved you before you were born.  I loved you on the cross.  I love you now.  That will never change.

    I long for your heart to be united with My Sacred Heart.  I long for the time when I hear you call out to Me, "Jesus, I love You!"  My heart fills with joy each time you whisper My Name.  My Father's Heart fills with joy when you honor Him in prayer.  The Holy Spirit is joy when you allow Him into your life to guide you and prompt you bringing you closer to us!  We love you.  We long for you! 

    My Sweetest Child, My Precious Sister, My Love, I AM yours.  I AM here.  Come to Me.  Reach out to Me with your prayer.  Touch My Sacred Heart.  My Heart is Yours.  Come and let me hear you.  All you need do is ask.  Be mine, My Love.  I AM here.  I wait for you.  I love you.

Jesus

Would You Return?

     The road was dry and dusty.  You heard that the Rabbi, the Master, would be coming this way.  You could not get near Him because you were unclean.  You could not get near anyone because you were unclean.  You had a vile disease that kept you out of society.  You could only shout from a distance and hope that He would hear you.
      As he passed on the road, the ten of you shouted, “Heal us.  Heal us.”  He turned and told you to go and show yourselves to the priests.  In good faith, you left to find the priests in the temple. 
     As you walked, you realized that your skin was clean.  You were no longer sick.  You all look at each other in wonder and awe.  Nine in the group ran towards the priests.  One person returned to give thanks and to praise God.  Did you return?



Luke 17: 11-19

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.  As He entered a village, ten lepers approached him.  Keeping their distance they called out, saying “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”  And as they went, they were made clean. 

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.  He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him.  And he was a Samaritan. 

Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean?  But the other nine, where are they?  Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”  Then He said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”