Light and sweetness

My days have been incredibly busy and deeply moving lately.  I am in the middle of vacation bible school currently at our parish which is always a hectic but enjoyable experience for the children and adults alike.  And this one does not fail….as always, it enriches my spiritual knowledge and gives some hope and refreshment to my very being.  I am grateful and in awe of the great helpful people God has placed in my life and the life of the parish.  When I see how wonderful such a week can be, and how people pull together, I wish ALL PEOPLE OF THE PARISH could know and experience these tremendous moments of “team” and joy.

I am also excited and emotional over my only daughter preparing to go to college and live on campus.  Although she won’t be far away, it is still “far away” as college life and studies will greatly consume her every waking moment.  With my oldest son commuting, but gone at least 85 percent of the time, this will leave me with tending to home school and adjusting daily life with two younger sons.  I recall how I did not conceive easily ever, and how each child, even miscarriages, were planned and planned again; how I used a basal thermometer and charted for what seemed years and years.  How there are gaps of years between children due to low fertility.  And when I complain about these same children  I recall how blessed I am to have every one of them, “four” being a great number to me, because it could be “none”. 

So, I stand back in awe once again of how God has blessed our lives and blessed me personally.  I don’t know why God insists on doing things in a certain way, but I liken it to how I insist on doing things a certain way because “I know”, I know something will turn out right when I do it “this way”.  Ahhh, God knows too, doesn’t he?

Next week we will return to usual appointments for special needs children in this brood, college shopping, library programs and preparing for many upcoming events – some of which include moving my daughter to college and attending ceremonies.  Our days of swim lessons have passed, the evenings while muggy are starting to darken again a little sooner, goldenrod and ragweed are in the air, and the low chirping of crickets can be heard in the evenings……all signs of summer’s end……

It’s amazing how my little corner of the world seems so insignificant and all meaningful at the same time.  How my life and living it is so mundane and yet life is never mundane, but full of mystery and intrigue. And so is the life of a mother.

As one season grows near the end, and another season beckons to emerge, may our Lady of Perpetual Help bless and help all those mothers I know and care about and give them the strength to rule their little corner of he world with love and patience, wisdom and strength, that they may know the joy of Our Lady and withstand the sorrow knowing an eternity of rest and peace awaits them in the next life.  There will be time to sleep in heaven.