Miracle Moments

They say honesty is the best policy. They're right. Whoever they are. He asked me to speak at an AA meeting-I said yes. Usually that means ten minutes of dishing our feelings then letting others chime in. Not today--somehow he had forgotten to tell me the last Saturday morning of the month is the "speaker" meeting...the full hour of sharing the sobering truth about ones recovery. Didn't think I could talk that long...but-what the hell, I'd give it a try. I made up my mind this morning-- at that moment-- that I would say whatever God inspired me to say--that I would break the silence--silence that only served to keep me submerged in humiliation and shame. I told them I've never shared the intimate details of my recovery, because I had been trying to "protect" the "innocent." But sometimes-while we're protecting others--we're also protecting ourselves -from the embarrassment, the rejection and the personal failures that come with the ...

Open your heart and you will see with the eyes of faith. Always be grateful for the gifts of your experiences and the wealth of your knowledge...always remember that life is a learning experience...and every challenge a tool to fine tune who you are destined to become. See your world through the eyes of faith...and follow your heart straight to where the spirit is guiding you... God never lets you down-if you stay close--he never fails you-if you believe...God gives you an abundant return on your investment-if you simply surrender it all... Every second of every day God is gracefully guiding your life...So let down your guard, listen with love in your heart...and let his gratitude redeem you. If you get with the program now, the world will be a better place tomorrow...Your life will have richer meaning, your friends and family will find peaceful prosperity and the spiritual sunshine within will brighten the dawning of each and every new day. Keep it simple, keep it real...and as I alwa...

Racism is alive and well-in Louisiana. I couldn't believe the discussion I heard today at a Thanksgiving feast. And I couldn't be more proud of my 23 year old son-who calmly, intelligently and compassionately defended the honor of an entire race of people. I'm not from Louisiana-though I've lived here since college...But I still cannot wrap my mind around the kind of bizarre rhetoric that renounces the very dignity of the human person--simply because of their skin color. No-no one used the N word...but they might as well have...In "intellectual" circles- racism goes under cover...It's their attitude, their judgements, their call for accountability from the poorest of the poor. I couldn't contain myself...so I said my peace then quickly exited. I've learned it does no good to argue with right wing extremists...closed minded people sometimes are as we say in AA-- "constitutionally unable or unwilling" to accept the simple truth...poverty ex...

Make someones day better. Smile at a stranger, lend a helping hand, give a few minutes of your time...and listen-really listen to what someone is trying to say. Show compassion and concern and care for your neighbor. Let someone know how much they mean to you-to the world-to your God. It is so easy to let the seconds and minutes and hours slip away...taking our lives and the lives of our loved ones for granted...So set your sights on the precious gifts of grace that have given you opportunities to get to know so many of God's children...living souls sent by a loving God--to share in our humanity. This week we give thanks for so many good things...let someone know you are giving thanks for them...You'll make them smile and help them feel good about themselves and about you...And you'll let them know that they are valued--and victorious, because their life matters-to you and to the rest of us. It's the little things we do that are the big things of life...So-do something ...

Pray, pray, pray... In 27 years the message has been the same--Pray. Saturday night-around the corner from my house--the faithful packed into church pews and stood in the aisle...to hear the man who has been speaking daily with the Blessed Virgin Mary--Ivon Draicevic. And on this night, like every day since he began seeing this heavenly vision-Ivon told the crowd--to pray--daily, fervently and from the heart--just pray--for individual peace, peace within families...and for peace in the world. I first heard that simple pleading when I interviewed Ivon in 1986 in Medugorje...in Bosnia Hercegovina...He and five young people had been seeing and speaking to the "Queen of Peace" since 1981...And from the beginning the consistent message has been an urgent call for prayer---prayer which has the power to change lives and to change the world. Married with children, Ivon has grown up...and grown accustomed to the attention and the adulation and the lack of autonomy...He is world renown...

Big Ben's the birthday boy! Fifteen and counting. The tried and true tumultuous teen years are under way...Every parent knows this rite of passage. Drivers Ed for the kids...sleepless nights for the parents. Ben's a great kid...middle child, mild mannered-easy going...studious and kind...But don't make him mad--the scorpio is sensitive and sure to let you know. For some reason-I'm not shuddering this time around. After tangling with his two older brothers I have no illusions...I know what to expect--but Ben--is different...handles his decisions with reflective confidence...and stubborn, matter of fact grounding. Some kids seem to maneuver their minds in a straightforward motion--instead of taking giant steps backward. Ben reminds me of me. Uh Oh! Growing up smack dab in the middle means more time is spent on others, than yourself...making self serving ideals less important...until you've had enough and rebel...like I did-eventually. But gentle Ben is strong and deci...

We are powerless...over so many things. Except prayer. Prayer is a power-- beyond the people, places and things that drive us insane. It is the power behind our personal will--when our will is turned over to our higher power. There isn't much in life that we can actually control--except our own choices. And so often, we make believe that our choices are the best decisions we can make. When in fact-our power to choose is directly influenced by the power and the perseverance of our prayer and our will to surrender everything that we are--to God. I learned that tonight again in talking with the ones I love. We don't always get what we want, or even what we are convinced we need...and tonight was one of those nights. Sometimes we expect too much from people...because often, it is much more than they have to give. Sometimes we want them to be better-for us-but they are content to be mediocre-for themselves. And sometimes, we try to control their bad behavior, when bad is the best th...

It's easier to do it now-than later. Purgatory that is. My son Jacob-the eleven year old sage-reminded me---you face the facts now...or later...but some time, some way, some how...we all have to come clean. The family's in counseling and it seems some of us are showing our colors-while others are not. Fear, insecurity, denial, ego, sickness...a myriad of melodramas make our minds unable to let loose of the old mistakes and blunders. Jake and I were discussing this-when he very matter of factly stated that those of us who are being honest now...facing our fears and our falls... are actually going through our personal purgatory right here on earth...before we find ourselves on the other side of eternity. He reminded me, no one escapes the life review...or the uneasy feelings...or the mistakes we've made...no matter how hard we try or how hard we try to hide from our past. It seems one of his teachers, a Christian Brother, had been discussing purgatory in class...and advised ...

Absentee dads. Fathers who are M.I.A. Children who are missing out. It is an epidemic that is hurting the most vulnerable-our children. In my small circle-it is astonishing to see how many one parent homes there are...how many moms trying to play mom and dad...when dad is too busy or too self absorbed to care. We wonder why so many kids are troubled, or in trouble or trying to stay out of trouble. It is no wonder they turn to drugs and alcohol, crime and sometimes suicide. Father and child bonding promotes the positive physical, social, emotional and mental development of children. While children raised in single parent families are more likely than children raised in 2 parent families to do poorly in school, have emotional and behavioral problems...become teenage parents, commit crimes, smoke cigarettes, abuse drugs and alcohol and have poverty level incomes as adults. So what do we do-when there's only one parent? Remember -that the most important factor in a child's upbringi...

Don't sweat the small stuff...even the big stuff. It's not that serious... "God's miracle-working power is as manifest today as it was in the past. It still works miracles of change in lives and miracles of healing in twisted minds. When a person trusts wholly in God and leaves to Him the choosing of the day and hour, there is God's miracle-working power becoming manifest in that persn's life. So we can trust in God and have boundless faith in His power to make us whole again, whenever He chooses." With God anything is possible.

The devil made me do it! He probably did. Probably got his horns in you-nudging you ever so subtly -in all the right places, at the right time-right when you couldn't take it anymore---or so you thought. Doesn't really matter if you buy into the horns and the pitchfork and the pointy tail...doesn't really matter if you believe in the devil...In fact, that's just the way he likes it. He doesn't want you wondering when he'll strike next or if you'll be his next victim or how he's going to get you sucked into his seductive snare. In fact-Satan doesn't want you to know he exists-because-then you'll know better. You'll be culpable for your actions...for choosing right over wrong, good over evil, God over nothing. You see-the devil likes keeping us in the dark. Letting us believe that we are the masters of our own fate. That God gives us permission to behave badly--because he's always ready to wipe the slate clean. He likes us to believe that w...

Always-remember from where you came--you may have to go back there someday. Sometimes-you get sent back-to remember what you've forgotten, or chosen to ignore. De ja vu can be painful-and poignantly jolting. I know someone who isn't looking back-far enough. Someone who sees the trees, but not the forest. A person who picks the present but is plotting for the future. The past and the persons who lived there are "dust in the wind" ... It is important to remember-that our life has a purpose...and the people and the past play a part in the present and in the future. Life is an intricately woven mosaic with a multi colored pattern of pieces that are placed in our path to propel us forward while grounding us in the present. Politicians are very good at projecting pleasing personalities and very good at pretending to put people before personalities. But sometimes-they forget-their promises. Sometimes they put pretense before people...personal desires before personal duty. We...

I cannot wrap my mind around evil. I understand the theories and the pscyo mumbo jumbo-but I do not understand it...not really. The girlfriend of the man stabbed in the neck near my house stopped to talk to me today. The attacker plunged the knife in her boyfriend's neck, then asked for his wallet...When the victim said there was no wallet, the criminal pushed the knife deeper into the poor man's neck before dropping him. That cold. That icy cold. Who can do that?! Who can cause such pain-and never look back? Not me. I mean it. I look back every time I so much as raise my voice to another human being. If I gossip or get greedy or get mad....I look back over and over and over again. Something always tells me I should have tried harder, turned the other cheek faster, let go and let God- get in the way sooner. I can't recall a time I have ever been able to just drop a bombshell without thinking twice, trying to retrieve my actions or re-written my script. Call it a c...

Jacob is gifted...spiritually gifted. At 11, he sees clearly--the silent wonders that God has designed. Jacob drew me a picture. A large cone shaped object-wide at the bottom narrow at the top...rows of objects filled the inside...gradually getting smaller as they rose to the top...two hearts with crosses in the center were placed on either side of the cone...and one sentence- WHERE IS LOVE? Jacob explained "You know how in movies when the martians invade and suck up everything from the earth?" "This is God sucking up all the evil...all the bad things-and leaving behind the Love. That's deep. Really deep. Jacob sees what some of us never even imagine...He understands what most of us refuse to consider...He thinks about possibilities that most of us prefer to avoid. Jacob is my fourth son...I had difficulty conceiving him after a devastating second miscarriage. On the day he entered this world, my friend called and said "How about that scripture reading?!" I...

My doorbell rang at midnight. A deputy stood there. My heart dropped. Were my two older sons okay?! A man had just been rushed to the hospital...stabbed in the neck, two hours earlier...He lay in an empty lot next to my home-for two hours...unable to move...bleeding profusely...crying out for help. I couldn't believe it. I'd heard nothing...within the walls of my home-I didn't hear the scuffle as a man with a knife, grabbed a jogger and demanded his wallet. There was no wallet...who carries a wallet while jogging?! Not me...not this man...So the robber-gets mad...and stabs his victim--in the neck no less I felt awful...that it happened...next to my house...that a criminal had been lurking in the bushes...waiting for a victim...preying on an innocent man...And I felt horrible-that he lay there for 2 hours...scared and in pain...and nearly bleeding to death... I wish I had heard him...had walked outside to empty the trash or to take a stroll or to simply get some air...maybe ...

I love America. I love the freedoms we have-even when we feel confined. I love our openness, our diversity, our love of life in all its forms...I love how we mix and mingle and make the most out of our situations--even when something is going terribly wrong. But mostly, I love our heroism...and our steadfast determination to reach for the stars--to dream the impossible dream...because dreams really do come true--if we simply believe...in the dream, that all men and women are created equally...with equal probabilities and possibilities-- to pull off the miraculous. I was a child of integration...a product of the public school system in the 70's....when busing and mixing the masses into one poi pourri of human goulash seemed like a good idea---to someone-somewhere. In theory-it would promote understanding, fellowship and the equality that some were being denied. But in reality, it promoted division and disappointment and dumb misunderstanding. The African American kids were bused acr...

THE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS Lord, make me a channel of thy peace, that where there is hatred, I may bring love: that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness; that where there is discord, I may bring harmony; that where there is error, I may bring truth; that where there is doubt, I may bring faith; that where there is despair, I may bring hope; that where there are shadows, I may bring light; that where there is sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted; to understand, than to be understood; to love, than to be loved. For it is by self-forgetting that one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven. It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.

We have wasps. I don't know why-or how-but they've come to visit...inside my bedroom, downstairs in the kitchen and tonight in the den. They are roaming through our home as if they belong there-which they don't. I'm not scared that we'll get stung...or afraid to swat them...I'm simply annoyed that they are trespassing on my domain...my place of peace where I want to lay my weary head without wondering when they may decide to land on me. Tonight I reached for my kitchen towel and almost grabbed a wasp by accident. That's happened before...one got stuck in my dishrag and ouch...I got stuck in the finger...One day as I walked in my flip flops through the grass...a bee landed in between the bottom of my foot and the sole of the flip flop...and agh!!!the sting really stung. So I guess in a moment I'll peruse the house with a flashlight and find the opening or the nest or whatever is opening the way for this fanciful flight of insects...What a nuisance-a pesty...

Prayer is communication. Faith is the belief that our prayers will be carried to God. That our communication will be heard...that God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. The determined belief that prayer is our pipeline upstairs is perhaps the most pious understanding of the simplicity of our relationship with our creator...our higher power...the one who rules the roost high above the fullness our understanding. For if we really understood...if we moved beyond the power of prayer-to the promises that persist long after we have abandoned our purpose...Prayer would be our emotional, physical and spiritual marathon from which we would never retire, resign or resolve to get right-manana. Tonight I pray, that my faith will carry me through tomorrow, to the surrender of a steadfast faith and conviction that God is hearing me loud and clear....but that his work cannot be done...until the spirit is willing...and the will is no longer mine...but his.