I haven’t been motivated to post these past couple of days because my mind has been preoccupied. My younger brother Rob had been sick with what was thought to be a bad flu. However it wasn’t the flu and he took a turn for the worse and was admitted into the ICU on Sunday. He’s doing better now and will have surgery later today. Hopefully he will soon be back into the arms of his wife and newborn baby boy.
It’s so hard not being closer (we’re 400 miles apart) but I can probably do more good for him right here in my house as I pray for him and offer up my little crosses for him. I have to admit that this situation has been a good lesson for me. God’s been reminding me of a few things. First, to never take life (or our health) for granted. Life is fragile and can change in a heartbeat. Forget the petty and focus on the blessings.
Second, life may be fragile but the heart united to God is unbelievably strong and resilient. How many times have we seen people endure unspeakable pain yet they haven’t lost hope because of their faith in God. It’s amazing. And in the end God always seems to reveal good that came out of the tragedy.
Lastly, with my brother on my mind so much I have been constantly turning my heart to God to pray for him or to just talk to God about what happens to be on my mind. It is a reminder of how I should always be – going about my work but aware of God’s presence with me. I noticed that when I had to stop what I was doing to tend to another toddler crisis, instead of complaining or having a fit of impatience, I just sighed and thought, “I do this for love of you, my Lord.”
These lessons aren’t profound or anything I didn’t already know, but it was a good reminder for my short attention span….and as I’m sitting here thinking how to close this little post, a text just came from my brother in the hospital. It’s the first time I’ve been able to “talk” to him in awhile. I’m elated that he’s well enough to text and
I’m touched that he took a moment to tell me that he loved me. Wow. It’s funny that I’m one to tear up easily but I haven’t allowed myself to cry over this situation. I’m afraid I’ll start sobbing uncontrollably and freak out the kids. So right now I’m going to go change some smelly diapers and get the dishes done and keep myself occupied. But I think late tonight my pillow is getting a good, long bathing. Until then, please keep my brother in your prayers. Thanks so much.
Category Archives: catholic faith
Learning in the Midst of Worry
7 Quick Takes – 7/1/11
Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.
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Blessed Junipero Serra & the Carmel Mission: I can’t believe that it is July 1st already! Time just goes too fast! On the plus side, today we celebrate two great feast days, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Blessed Junipero Serra. Living in California, on summer vacations we would often visit the various missions when we were younger. It’s funny that years later my parish church is the Mission San Carlos (Carmel Mission.) Brian and I were married here and our children were baptized here. It really is a beautiful Mission and it has the distinction of being where Blessed Serra is buried. If you are ever in the area, you should make a visit. In fact…
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Founder’s Day: …if you’ll be in the Monterey Bay area tomorrow (Saturday, July 2) stop by the Mission for the Founders Day celebration. There is music and live demonstrations of how things were made during the early days of the mission (ie. food and crafts) and a special Mass at 5:30 PM. (There is a dinner afterwords but you need tickets for that.) It’s always interesting and a lot of fun.
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Cars 2 is too scary for little kids!: We are big Pixar fans in our house with the favorite movies of the kids being Cars, Toy Story and Walle. Bella used to be obsessed with Cars and had all the toys for it. Now Andrew loves Cars (and inherited the toys) and was so excited to see the new movie for his birthday. Since I am the one who usually takes them to the movies, Andrew was excited to have a daddy date with Brian as his movie buddy. Bella had a treat and was movie buddies with my visiting sister. From what Brian told me, the movie started out okay but it was really violent and should have been rated PG not G. By the last third of the movie Andrew (who just turned 4) got too scared with all the shooting, cars dying and the bad guys trying to kill Lightning. He started crying so Brian had to take him out to the lobby. Bella finished the movie with my sister and she enjoyed it but she is 9 years old. So if you are taking your younger kids to see it, beware.
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Is there such a thing as low cal food that’s yummy?: I’ve been trying to eat healthier so I can get off the rest of the baby weight (and then some) so I tried a Weight Watchers recipe for macaroni salad. I’m a little leery of “light” recipes but this was really good. I used bow tie pasta, substituted half the celery with red bell pepper and added a bit more fresh Italian parsley, which gave it a nice touch. It was really tasty. Check it out at Weight Watchers.com Recipies: Macaroni Salad
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Summer Reading: Brian purchased the book Poor Banished Children and I hope to start reading it next week. There is an interesting interview with the author Fiorella De Maria over at Ignatius Insight. If I like this book, I’ll check out her other novels.
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He can’t possibly be teething??: How soon can a baby start teething? Matthew is not yet three months but he is drooling and gnawing as if he’s teething. It just seems too early for that.
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“JFT”: My “just for today” goals: First, when things get hectic I’ll recall today’s gospel reading “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” and I will turn my heart to Christ for strength. Second, I’ll get that overflowing basket of clean laundry folded!
That’s it for today. Have a wonderful 4th of July holiday! God bless America and watch over our troops.
Just For Today
The other day I was talking about how I can’t seem to live up to the standards of the seemingly “perfect” mom bloggers out there. Now I know that we are just getting a tiny glimpse into their lives and that they have their own struggles too but you’ve got to admit that some moms just have it more together than others. I’m one of the “others.” I’m resigned to the fact that I’m never going to be a Catholic “Martha Stewart type” but I’ve got my good points and they’d be able to come out more often if I was a tad more organized.
Case in point, when you enter into our home you immediately see the entry way, the front room (where my desk and “office area” is) and the dining room. The area is surrounded with windows that look out to a beautiful view. However, we never use the dining room and the table has become the catch all for piles of junk and things that need to get sorted and put away. Since the table is such a mess I tend to keep the curtains shut and just add to the piles. The other day I finally cleared everything off the table and opened wide all the curtains. There was so much light and beauty outside that it literally lifted my spirits and I was a more lovable mom to my kids! (Stop laughing.)
Although I’m a mess cat, I do hate all the clutter and feel so much better when things are tidy and organized. But to get me to do it and keep it up, well, that’s another story. My youngest sister has been visiting and she kept the kids occupied so I got a good head start in cleaning and organizing the house. However, she flew back to So Cal on Tuesday (huge sniff) and I’m back on my own. So I decided that each day I’ll pick one small thing that I can work on that day. Something I can realistically accomplish in between the dishes and diapers and dirty laundry.
My first general task is to make sure that when I wake up in the early morn to feed the baby (or pump), I’ll use that time to say my morning prayers and read the gospel for the day. Since I always have my iphone with me and it has my prayer book and missal on it (I love the imissal app!) there is no excuse. That quiet time praying and just talking to God always helps me to get through the day better.
My “just for today” task is to keep an eye on that dining room table and when I see things starting to pile up on it I’ll have the kids take what belongs to them. (“Bella, put away your drawings. Andrew, take Buzz and Lighting back to your room. JP, throw away this half eaten apple…) While they are doing that, I’ll put the junk mail in the recycling bin, put the empty gifts bags back in the wrapping box, put the Costco items away in the garage pantry and open those windows and let the light shine in!
Who knows, maybe in a year from now some other struggling mother will look at me and say, “How does Bobbi do it all and still seem so sane??” Hahahaha! Okay, I couldn’t even say that with a straight face but one step at a time, baby. One step at a time.
What I Needed to Hear
Two posts came up on my google reader and both were were really worth the read. They echoed what I’ve been thinking about all day yesterday.
The first was a post at Creative Minority Report called The Beauty of Human Weakness by Chelsea Zimmerman from Reflections of a Paralytic. My favorite lines are the following:
“…the awareness of the limits of our human nature is meant to lead us to put all our trust in God who wants us to rely on Him for absolutely everything. When we place our trust in God alone His divine power will shine forth in us, sustaining us in our weakness (St. Josemaria, Friends of God, 194). In other words, God uses our weakness to reveal His glory. This is the example Christ left for us that we have been instructed to follow (1 Peter 2:21).”
The second post to resonate with me was These Hands from Tumbling Towards Grace. My favorite lines:
“
Please don’t fight me. I know you. I love you. I made you to love me. Please let me love you.
What kind of a God do we have, who pleads with us simply to let ourselves be loved? In a world where our value as people is increasingly determined by what we do, make, create, consume; how radical to hear the message that all that matters is to love and be loved? We have a God who makes Himself available to us every moment of every day, body, blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist!
And what do I do? I get stressed out by the baby crying, or the messy house, and try to find salvation in a chocolate bar. Or a bottle of wine. Or reality tv. Or whatever the crutch du-jour is. Twisting and squirming in the hands which hold everything, and hold it together.
And right there, is Jesus, patiently waiting for me to call on him, quietly reminding me like the most tender of parents, “please don’t fight these hands that are holding you.”
It was just what I needed to hear. God reinforcing what he was speaking to my heart. He’s amazing that way. Blessed be God. š
Be A Spiritual Simon of Cyrene
Hi All,
I wanted to write you to ask for your prayers for a good friend of mine who is really sick. His name is Tim and I’ve known him since my early 20’s. He has a special place in my heart because he’s always been a close friend and years ago when I first decided to discern a religious vocation many of my non-catholic friends were upset and turned away. He was the one friend who not only supported me throughout the process but encouraged me to follow God’s path whatever the cost. As it turned out, God’s path for me was marriage to Brian. Tim’s path was also marriage to a wonderful girl named Monica and together they have twin boys. Gradually we drifted apart and hadn’t heard from one another in over a decade.
About a year ago our paths crossed again and we were excited to pick up our friendship and add our spouses. We’d group email each other when we could and although we don’t live close we try to keep in touch with each other and our families. When I talked to Tim I was shocked to learn that over the past couple of years he has been diagnosed with a number of life-changing medical conditions, including fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome and it has gotten worse since he first told me. He is at the where he spends nearly all of his day unable to even leave his bed. Things like simply getting up to walk around or even sitting outside are either very difficult or impossible, depending on his symptoms at the time. His pain is a nearly unending battle, as well as a sensation of vertigo, which sounds innocuous but leaves him dizzy, nauseous and unable to move. He has also been affected by symptoms that make him extremely fatigued, confused, ill-tempered, and unable to remember even basic things most of the time.
It is shocking to see how Tim’s life has changed. Even more heart wrenching to me is the burden and stress it has put on Monica and their 8 year old twin boys. Monica loves Tim deeply and would do anything for him but the strain of being a stay at home mom, while working from home as the financial supporter of the family and homeschooling their boys as well as being Tim’s caretaker has taken its toll. Tim in turn has shared how difficult it is to see his wife and children suffer these trials and he can’t physically do anything about it. They have only survived this long because of their strong faith in the grace and love of God. My heart breaks for them but at the same time they are such an amazing witness to me and are a living example of Christ’s call to “carry your cross.”
The good news is that Tim has finally found a doctor that will help him with his condition. However, they would have to leave their home in Oregon and stay in Utah for three months. Their pastor has decided to put together a website for them in order to spread their story and ask for help for them. He is trying to raise the $9,000 it will take to pay for the three month treatment, housing and travel to and from Utah.
I know money is tight and there are numerous worthy causes in need of funds, but if you can spare anything, I’m asking on behalf of Tim, Monica and their boys to please help them get their life back together.
Even if you can’t give, I am also putting together a spiritual bouquet for them to let them know that although they are not Catholic and may not understand the Mass or the rosary, we are their brothers and sisters in Christ and we are willing to lift them up in prayer and help them carry their cross as spiritual Simons of Cyrene. You can leave your prayer pledge in the comment box or email me at rol@revolutionoflove.com.
You can send a financial donation directly to their website at http://www.helpthehendersons.com/p/donate.html. Or if you’d like to make a group gift with me in honor of Christ’s Passion and Our Lady of Sorrows. You can donate through Paypal here and I’ll send them a lump sum.
Thank you so much!!
Bobbi
PS – To read more about Tim and his family and his illness visit the website http://www.helpthehendersons.com.