Have you ever had one of those days when things didn’t go according to plan or when disappointments blindsided your every move? When this happens, just remember to keep on the sunny side of life.
I read this story from a post on LinkedIn written by Hiram Figueroa Jr. It’s a love story – and it will truly touch your heart.
I believe that there are two types of people in this world: those who like surprises and those who don’t. I, for one, do not like surprises. And I think the reason why is that the surprise usually doesn’t end well for me. Let me give you a perfect example.
With Christmas fast-approaching, I wanted to share this true story that I discovered from many years ago as I was sifting through some of my older writings. My prayer is that each of you will experience the true meaning of Christmas, discovering the true peace and joy of the season.
Last weekend, our oldest son got married. It was a beautiful day and everything went as well as could be expected. It was a wonderful time filled with happiness, family and a really good party.
But as we were waiting for the wedding to begin, my mind started reminiscing as I happily watched our son in the final moments before the ceremony. I started thinking about his early birth into this world (three months early to be exact) and how Stephanie and I watched him overcome the many obstacles as he grew. I started thinking about all of the good times we had when he was a young boy and all of the activities that we did together. I started remembering all of the joy and sadness that we encountered along the way of watching him grow into the young man that he is today. I also thought about how unprepared I was to be a parent.
Raising children is not easy. We do the best we can with the knowledge gained from our own upbringing and experiences. Sometimes it’s a struggle. But we do the best we can do and pray that our choices and decisions will benefit our children for years to come.
In our Gospel today (Matthew 10:7-15), Jesus informs us of what we need to do in our mission to be his disciples. It’s similar to parenting. Sometimes, things fall right into place. Other times, we have no clue as what to do. The job is not always easy and sometimes we have doubts. So we need to trust and remember that God, our Father, is always with us guiding us and showing us the way – just like any parent would do.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path. ~Proverbs 3:5-6
A few years ago, my wife Stephanie and I took a group of our parish teens on a summer mission trip to Cincinnati, Ohio. We were blessed to spend the week working with an organization called Little Brothers: Friends of the Elderly. This is a group that works with elderly people who have lost ties with family, have no family at all, and face the reality of simply being alone. Read More
On Wednesday, I whipped up a batch of homemade Sweet Corn and Crab Soup for dinner. There’s nothing like a good pot of soup on a cold, winter evening. So I went grocery shopping last weekend to make sure that I had all of the needed ingredients to prepare the feast. I’m always amazed at the number of ingredients needed to make a pot of homemade soup. And it can be anything from meat, fish, various vegetables, and usually several spices. Then you have to do all of the necessary chopping and mixing. So the question to ask: is it soup yet? Well, not quite. You need to have the soup simmer for a period of time. Once these steps have been completed, you can finally partake in your creation (and hopefully it turned out well). Read More
Back when our three sons were younger, we used to go camping on our family vacations. And I can recall that some of the best trips we ever had were when we camped in the mountains. There’s something about the fresh mountain air and the fabulous views that really make you feel awake and alive.
I remember one summer night when we were sitting around the campfire. I was lying on the ground looking up at the night sky. I had never seen so many stars in my entire life. As far as the eye could see, I saw what appeared to be millions upon millions of stars twinkling brightly. As I was gazing upward, I found myself opening my eyes as wide as possible so that I could see as much of the sky at once. I just didn’t want to miss any part of that magnificent light show. Even after a long day and mile-upon-mile of hiking trails, sleep was the last thing on my mind.
“Stay awake!” Jesus says. “For you don’t know on which day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24: 42-51)We need to be attentive and constantly alert so that we can see God in the world. This can’t be just a casual observance, but something that needs to be integrated into our very being. It can be so easy to be lulled to sleep by the familiar, the comfortable, and the mundane. It can be so easy to fall into auto-pilot mode and do what we always do; to walk around like zombies following our daily rituals and patterns, completely missing what’s right in front of our face. But today and every day, we are called to be alert and to find those things that challenge us and make us feel alive in our faith. For when we are not awake, we are not fully alive.
Let us always make a conscious effort to see the light of God that is right in front of us, all around us, and within us. And let us strive to keep our eyes wide open so that we can witness the immeasurable love that God has for each one of us. Believe me – that in itself is worth staying awake for.
What kind of foundation are we building on? In today’s gospel (Matthew 7:21-29), Jesus wasn’t talking about building an actual house, but about building a life – a life that is meaningful – a life worth living. We could certainly apply this teaching to marriages and families too.
When we’re building a life, we want it to be a life that we can look back on at the end of it without any regrets. When we’re building a family, we want that family to be stable, strong, and full of joy and love. If we want to build a life or a household that will last, that will stand, that will make a difference; we first need to understand what Jesus means when he talks about storms. Read More
Over the past week, I have been watching my father’s old 8mm home movies. This was a project that was started months before his passing, where he was cleaning out his basement and wanted to get rid of all these old reels of film. Being the video buff that I am, I said that I would take it and capture on video all of the important parts so we had it as a memory of the past. So for months, this stuff sat here in my “things to do” pile. Well, I’m finally getting to it, Dad! Read More
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