Falling on His Grace

Last night at our appreciation dinner for all the CCD teachers at church, our DRE said something I hear often: "We all pray when we're struggling with something. But when everything's going well, we tend not to pray." That's not really true for me. Sure, I pray when things are not going well. But I no doubt pray better and more often when things are going well. Though I think I know why this is - my version of things not going well is my being too tired to think; when I'm too tired to think, I'm also too tired to pray. When I have energy and my thinking is clear, my struggles do not seem nearly so difficult, and I find myself praising God for lifting the cloud from me. Does anyone else find it is easier to pray when things are going well than when they are not?

Think about it... we are all aliens! We are sent here, to be born of alien parents, and to accomplish a very special mission. When we have adequately accomplished our mission and have been rid of all earthly debris, we are brought home on a beam of light - back to our true home, our native home. While we are called to live on this earth, we are not of this earth. Yet - I am as guilty as the next person - we amass stuff all around us - surrounding ourselves by all that is of this world. I suppose if I were sent to live on Mars, I may pick up a rock or two as souvenirs, or other things as the situation afforded. But I can't say I would hunker down and build a castle out of those rocks around myself, especially knowing that I would someday be leaving Mars. I think the problem that arises is that it is difficult to recognize ourselves as aliens. We are surrounded by billions of others who take the same form we do. We have no memory or understanding of what our native land is like. An...

It's quiet here... too quiet. There is no noise except the rocking of the chair Andy is sitting in, an occasional turning of a page, and now the sound of clicking on a keyboard. It's been quiet here since Andy and I came home at 6:30. Something's missing. Of course, I know exactly what that something is: the boys are gone for three days. Andy's finals are this week, and my parents often take the boys for a part of finals week every semester so that Andy can concentrate on studying. It's great help to him - and also gives me a little respite. They picked them up at 4:30 today. The boys were thrilled; Blaise barely said goodbye to us. As they pulled out, I couldn't help it - I started to tear up. Yes, these boys drive me nuts sometimes, but they are such a part of my life. And tonight, I barely know what to do with myself. No wonder people have a hard time when their kids leave home. I've only been a mother 5 years (5 1/2 if you count pregnancy), but I don...

As I was trying to think of something that would be interested to blog, I remembered this: Four weeks ago, on a Sunday, I was absolutely EXHAUSTED as I was kneeling and trying to pray before Mass. I crossed myself and automatically started to pray Grace. "Bless us oh Lord and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen." I don't remember whether I realized I was praying the meal prayer during the prayer or after I was done, but I do know I finished it. And I thought, this is a prayer for anytime. It's not just at mealtime that our Lord gives us gifts from His bounty; He gives to us at all times, whether we realize it our not. And before Mass is the perfect time to pray that prayer - before being read His Scriptures and before being fed His Body. So I was meditating on that as much as my exhausted mind and my two children would let me. THEN, we got to the Gospel - John 21. [Simon Peter, Thomas..., Nathanael..., the son...

Well, it's May. Time for another post! I would love to post more and keep up with everyone better. I have two excuses: no time to write and nothing to write about, or at least nothing that seems exciting enough to write about. I plan to write about making my baby slings, as my good friend Katie suggested, someday. Or perhaps I can write about deciding whether to put Blaise in kindergarten or 4-k (we're leaning toward kindergarten). But for now, I'm just living from day to day, doing my best to enjoy the stage I'm at but anxious for the next stage. And I admit, I am not doing as well as I'd like to be in enjoying the stage I'm at. But... good things are in store in the not too distant future: Andy agreed to let me start my new schedule of working 20 hours one month early. I'll be starting that schedule, working 3 days per week (two of the days being until 7:00 or 7:30 in the evening, however), on June 28! Less than two months away! In the meantime, I'm ta...