Miracle Moments

It's so nice hearing the laughter. My two youngest sons are taking a jacuzzi bubble bath in my rarely used tub...and their joy is infectious. Of course-at first the guys thought that at the ripe old ages of 11 and 12 they were much too old to enjoy the bubbles together. But as I explained, the tub is really just an indoor jacuzzi-so throw caution to the wind! Their brother Ben is bagging groceries at the local supermarket...His first real job since turning sixteen. As a teen I was one of the first female baggers at the commissary on Macdill Air Force base in Tampa Florida. In those days we worked for tips, filling the bags and pushing the grocery carts, two at a time, outside before loading up the car. Mac is delivering chicken wings for a local restaurant. The other day he delivered himself head first into the pavement. As I doctored up his bleeding knees I delivered another lecture on the merits of wearing a helmet. Every one's growing up and growing into themselves, j

My oldest son Johnny turned 25 this month. It's amazing thinking about it. What a blessing! Since he's living in the community of "Our Lady of Hope" in St Augustine Florida, we were unable to speak to him to wish him a Happy Birthday. However, his brothers and I were permitted to send him letters to let him know just how much we Love him. I know that probably sounds like an odd way to communicate in this technological age, but actually it's not. This is Johnny's time, not ours. Time to heal, time to rebuild himself on solid ground and time to discover the path which God had laid out for him, long before his birth. As his mom it is also my time...to surrender and to trust. Time to surrender him totally to God's Loving embrace and time to trust that he is exactly where he needs to be. Johnny could have been anywhere on his birthday and yet, he chose to stay in this community where he has lived for one full year. He chose to continue living among the other yo

I had to laugh. The kids and I were waiting on Pete, the air conditioning man, and so we decided to exit the hot house in exchange for some spiritual radiation...at the Blessed Sacrament chapel. As I waited on them in the car, here comes Jacob, in his multi colored Nike tennis shoes, with one sock pulled half way up his leg and on the other foot a barely visible ankle sock. "I was in a rush," he said as he pushed the long sock down to try and match his other sock. It didn't quite work. Kids are so funny, and so unaffected. Even by the heat. They've been real troopers, opening the windows and doors to let the cooler air in. Thank God Uncle Robert sent Ben a fancy outdoor grill this week....which has kept the cooking heat right where it belongs-outside. I Love Mr. Pete. He's an old fashioned fixer upper who is as honest as he is talented. With a few twists of the wires, a cool breeze blew through our home cooling off all our moods. Yesterday was fix it day.

'In the beginning, God created Heaven and Earth' Genesis Chapter one As I think about that statement, it is divinely appropriate that God received heavenly honor many moons ago, when two American astronauts first set foot on the Moon. My friend and cub reporter, Karen, sent me an article detailing the faithful gratitude of Buzz Aldrin, who along with Neil Armstrong, made history forty years ago by walking on the moon. Aldrin, an elder in his Presbyterian church, marked the moment by consuming a consecrated communion host and wine. Imagine, the significance of his foresight. Aldrin is about to launch into space, travel 250 thousand miles from earth...and he plans ahead to honor God by taking communion on the moon! That's pretty powerful! Aldrin apparently detailed his decision in an article he wrote in Guideposts magazine. Aldrin and Armstrong had been on the lunar surface a few minutes when he made the following public statement over the live radio broadcast, "T

It has been reported, that Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, experienced the "Dark Night of the Soul" from 1948 almost up until her death, in 1997. A close friend, Father Benedict Groeschel, apparently claims there were only brief interludes of relief and that the "darkness" left near the end of her life. St. John of the Cross, a 16th century mystic and Spanish Carmelite priest, endured the "darkness" some 45 years. He wrote a poem: La noche oscura del alma, The Dark Night of the Soul, which follows the souls detachment from the world, to its union with God. St. Terese of Liseux, the beloved 19Th century French Carmelite, went through a similar experience. Struggling with doubts about the afterlife she reportedly told her fellow nuns, "If you only knew what darkness I am plunged into." The dark night of the soul is a spiritual crisis on the journey toward God. It is a feeling of intense loneliness and desolation, even in the face of extrem

My mother was a very strong, German woman. Very strong and very German. She had a steely determination in the face of great adversity and tons of personal struggles. I am grateful to her for many gifts, not the least of which, is my oldest sister who entered this world on this day 54 years ago. That sounds all grown up...In fact, it sounds much older than she seems...But it is what it is because birthdays are a reality check and a reminder that our lives are maturing into the future beyond our will and our human comprehension, just as God intended. My sister's name, Manuela, is of Spanish and Hebrew origin and means "God is with us." Isn't that beautiful? "God is with us." There isn't anything more profound. The female version is Emmanuel...But Manuela, suits my sister perfectly. We call her Ela for short and I'm slightly embarrassed to admit, for most of my life, I thought her name was weirder than my own...and I didn't have a clue about i

"The story has a happy ending because I have found the Transcendent God both intellectually and emotionally." Anne Rice Something prodded me to buy Anne Rice's memoir, 'Called Out of Darkness: A spiritual confession.' So, I did. It has been my experience, that when I ignore those proddings -I lose out big time! I marched into the store and as soon as I had the book in my hands, I fell into the nearest chair and began reading. An overwhelming feeling of joy washed over me...In fact, I felt so happy I began to cry, right there in Barnes and Nobles. As I think about that moment, I remember feeling an immense sense of gratitude to Anne and to God. To Anne for her humbling honesty and her openness to the guiding grace of the Holy Spirit...To God for creating such a beautifully gifted human being, with a brilliantly pulsating heart. Here she was-this enormously popular and successful secular author, hearing a call from God...and risking everything, to answer it.

My oh my, that was a humbling experience! I drove my son's car home from the repair shop after a brake job. I can't possibly adequately describe the interior, or the groaning sounds or the exterior paint job. I stopped at the grocery to pick something up-and I almost parked far, far from the front door. Then I thought, "That's nuts...and much too vain." I laughed as I got out and walked inside. You can tell a lot about a person by the car they drive and how its maintained. Back in the day of babies and carpools, work and constant running from one obligation to the next, my vehicle left a lot to be desired. These days, older and wiser, I'm a much better steward. When my van flooded during the torential December rains, I used the insurance money to buy a much smaller, fuel efficient, used car. In fact, it's conveniently small enough for me to wash all by myself-so I do. The kids fit nicely and Ben is secretly hoping one day it will be his because, &qu