A barrel of humanity

When my husband and I take a driving trip we usually end up eating at a Cracker Barrel. The same was true on our last trip. The restaurant was very crowded that day, and since I am not a big fan of crowds, I really dreaded going in. We were pretty hungry since we'd been driving for several hours, so I thought I'd suck it up and just go on in there.

I usually don't like crowds. Sometimes it seems like everyone is always in a hurry or they don't have time for even a smile. No one says "Excuse me" or even acknowledges you when you say it. People seem to be less tolerant of people with small children, or someone elderly who moves slower than that person might think they should.

Right away, I noticed something. Even though it was crowded, people were really courteous and nice. I saw people smiling. I saw people holding doors open for others. I heard people politely asking if others were in line before they jumped up to the front.

My fear of crowds dissipated as I let myself relax and enjoy the positive for once. Even though we were tired, I felt much better when we got back in the truck to continue on our journey.

With all the negatives on the horizon lately, it was nice to have a little respite on the road.

We need to pray for our country, for each other and for ourselves, that we will remember that we are the hands of feet of Jesus. We can show him in a smile, in a kind word and in a small gesture.

"Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.” ― Thérèse de Lisieux

I'm not really worried

This has been one rough year, hasn't it? This election cycle alone has been enough to drive you crazy. Every where you turn, there is conflict, violence and strife, and people just seem to be getting angrier every day. I am sure that there are way more people who have developed problems with anxiety because of it. 

I think feeling this way is one downturn to having instant access to "news." I put that in quotes because it's even more difficult than ever to know which "news" source you can trust. Social media seems to exacerbate the problem. I have a wide variety of "friends" on Facebook (which I am very thankful for) and in one day alone I can see 10 or more differing opinions on any given issue. And every one of these people who post their opinions are very sincere in their beliefs. A lot of them are people whose judgement I trust. 

I find myself feeling confused and conflicted on a daily basis. I feel like I'm always second-guessing myself. I've decided to stop doing that. I seemed to get a feeling of renewal around Easter this year. I love the book of Acts, and that period between Easter and Pentecost. The stories of the early church are fascinating to me. Living under the Roman occupation in Jerusalem was way worse than what we have seen. I cannot imagine how terrible life was there. My husband and I were watching "The Bible" and "A.D. The Bible Continues" when something dawned on me. During that horrible time, when the Jews were once again under the power of another people,  God sent his Son like he promised them he would. He sent the Redeemer, and even though there are still people who don't know him or won't believe, we have the promise he gave us. He will return. But until then, we can receive him in the Eucharist until he returns. We can be his hands and his feet and bring his love to others, knowing that we have the peace that passes all understanding.

So I am not really worried. 

You won't believe this!

It has been a long time since I have worked on my blog. There are a few reasons for that, but the primary one was that I did not have an available computer at home. My old Mac from 2007 finally bit the dust. You can turn it on, but typing is another story!

I had an iPad, but no keyboard attached to it. Finally, last week, my iPad got dropped and it would not work anymore. RT (my husband) bought me a brand new iPad and got me a keyboard to go with it! So I am really back this time. We have a nice computer upstairs, but I don't want to get up there and leave RT downstairs alone watching tv. We really do enjoy our time together after work every evening, watching our movies and hanging out together. Now that I have this new little toy of mine, I can truly say I am back.

About a week ago, a priest friend of mine suggested a book for me to read, and I am really excited! We just finished watching A.D. The Bible Continues (which incidentally was syncing up with our daily readings this year) and I discovered that I really wanted to read about the early church fathers. I love the book of Acts, and am fascinated with the travels of the Apostles and other early Christians and how the gospel was spread. I find the story of Peter, the prince of the Church fascinating. I find the story of Paul, who some say is the greatest apostle, fascinating. I have figured out that my faith is still being formed, even at my age.

The book that was recommended to me is "From Age to Age: How Christians Have Celebrated the Eucharist" by Edward Foley, a Capuchin. My friend felt that reading this book, which is about the "source and summit" of our faith, would be a good way for me to begin my journey.

We are coming up on the 12th anniversary or our daughter's death. It is a hard time of the year for us, and it really doesn't get easier. Recently, I have said that our sweet granddaughter Rosemary has put little pieces of our hearts back into place again. Just being with her brings us such joy! Now we have another little sweetheart on the way! In late July, we are expecting another sweet little girl, whose name will be Vivian.

Pray for us as we face this tough week leading up to the anniversary. Believe this!