Matters of the Heart

Neva slowly climbed the steps to the front entrance of the church.  She remembered the days when her steps were lighter and her heart was filled with love and joy. Unfortunately, her heart had to work so much harder now to pump life into her body.  She carried with her a pain that had eroded an area of the muscle in her heart. 
  Neva slid into her usual pew and prepared her heart for the celebration of the mass.  Like every week, she listened intently to the readings and the priest's homily.  She was completely unaware what was about to occur.  As the priest held up the consecrated host at the alter, Neva saw Jesus standing behind the priest.  He held out his hand and asked her to draw near. Without hesitation, Neva drew closer.
  "My Lord, I have a pain in my heart that I can no longer carry.  I have tried to leave it behind, but it is so deeply imbedded in me, that I have failed in my attempts.  Lord, will you please heal me?"
  Jesus smiled and said, "Give me your pain, dear child, and I will restore your heart with my own."  Jesus placed one of the consecrated hosts from the alter unto Neva's hand.  With tears streaming down her face, Neva released her pain and then placed the host into her mouth.
  Within minutes her heart began to change. She took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled.  It was gone.  That heavy feeling was gone.  She touched her heart as her brain began to process the change. The Lord's peace and love began to declutter her thoughts.  Her eyes could clearly see those around her. Her ears listened to the new rhythm of her heart.  She was healed! She was healed!  Filled with joy, Neva praised God every day that followed for this loving act of mercy.

-Susan

Celebrating Mary

  October is the month dedicated to Mary and the Rosary.  The Rosary is my "go to" prayer.  Whether I am excited, scared, nervous, confused, angry, depressed or happy, the Rosary helps me celebrate life.  More specifically, it helps me celebrate God's life within me.  Sound mysterious?  Well that is the whole idea.  By dwelling on the mysteries of Jesus' life, I begin to unravel the mysteries of my own life. 
   God is amazing and loving far beyond my comprehension.  Like any good mother, Mary can sense my perplexity.  Gently she holds my hand and slowly helps me to understand.  She is so patient with me even when my mind is clouded with distractions, or my heart is too angry or too sorrowful to grow.  Linked together by the Rosary beads, Mary stays close to me. As I hold the beads, I can sense that Mary holds the answers I so desperately desire.  I want to love God more, but I let so many little things get in the way.  As I close my eyes and pray the Hail Mary, Mary opens my mind and heart to embrace God's loving plan.  She helps me understand things I could not comprehend on my own. 
  I have fallen in love with the Rosary.  The Rosary is my mysterious, inspiring connection to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  I believe the Rosary is the lifeline of my soul.

-Susan

Who Is Your Hero?

  I wanted to share a special part of my weekend with you.  This weekend I was honored to attend the 6th Annual Dutton Farm Fashion Show.  Dutton Farm is an amazing place dedicated to helping adults with mental or physical impairments. They provide opportunities for the adults (affectionately termed "farmers") to learn new vocational and social skills.  It is a place where love has no boundaries and the hands and feet of Jesus are visibly evident.
  This year's theme centered around the "Celebration of Heroes".  Each "farmer" walked the runway dressed as their favorite hero.  Some of the costumes included super heroes like Spiderman, Wonder Woman, the Hulk, or a firefighter.  I couldn't have been more proud when my niece, Katie, walked down the runway.  She was dressed as Mary, the Mother of Jesus.  Tears filled my eyes as I cheered for her.  The world often overlooks what my niece so clearly understood.  She wanted to be like Mary.  She was probably the wisest person in the room.  With a smile on her face she walked down the runway evangelizing the room without saying a word!  My niece Katie is incredible!
  After the show, a woman came up to Katie and said she was so moved by her, that she wanted to give her something.  She handed Katie a necklace with a Mary on it.  She told Katie it was from Medjugorje!
  Afterwards, my sister told Katie, "You must have really touched her heart."  Katie smiled. 
  I thought about this later as I drove home.  Katie, in that moment, was just like Mary.  She was gently touching people's heart, reminding them that there is so much more to life than what the world deems important.  There is nothing more important than God's love. Katie gets it.  I hope the rest of us are wise enough to discover that as well.

-Susan

If you are interested in learning more about the wonderful things occurring at Dutton Farms please visit their website: duttonfarm.org

Seeing Things Differently

  Frances kneeled next to her bed and began to sob.  Life had been too difficult lately.  "Please Jesus, please help me to see things differently.  I am in such desperate need of healing.  Please don't leave me alone with this problem."  After going through half a box of Kleenex and a half dozen prayers, Frances climbed into bed exhausted and fell asleep almost immediately.
  Frances woke up the next morning with a heavy heart.  She began another day with her problems weighing on her mind. She wondered how she would get through another day.  She wondered if God had even heard her plea last night.  As she walked down the driveway to get into her car, she noticed something odd.  Her neighbor, two houses away, was walking her dog, but there was a strange aura of light around her.  Frances rubbed her eyes.  "Great," she thought to herself, "Now I can add vision problems to my list of problems, too."
  As the day went on, Frances saw theses strange aura of lights around everyone.  Some were very bright and almost had an energy to them.  Frances was fascinated.  It was if she was the only one who noticed them.  Just before lunch, Frances sat down at her office desk and noticed a piece of paper folded in half with her name on it.  She unfolded the piece of paper and read the message. "Frances I thought you might enjoy seeing how my love encompasses everyone.  I have my arms wrapped tightly around you today.  I have never left you alone to face your problems.  I am always with you. Love, God."  Frances quickly looked around and realized she could see God's love everywhere.  It was amazing! But what really took her breath away, was when Frances caught her own reflection in a nearby window. The aura around her was almost dazzling.  Frances found herself smiling and almost a little giddy.  Sure, she still had her problems, but knowing she had God's Love all around her, made her see everything differently.

-Susan

The Project

  Charlene was surprised to hear the class project was due in two days.  "How is that even possible?" she thought to herself.  It seemed like she had so much more time for this assignment.  She looked over the notes she had taken earlier.  "Hmm... I started off  good....why did I just stop trying?"  Well she had two full days to pull off this assignment.  She always worked well under pressure.  She felt somewhat confidant she could pull this off.
  For the next two days she completely dedicated herself to the project.  As the hours passed by, she began to feel less and less confidant.  She could have done so much more if she hadn't waited until the last minute.  She had so many good ideas, but she completely underestimated how much time she needed.  At the end of the two days, she looked at her project.  She was underwhelmed.  She knew she could have done so much better.  
  As she approached the teacher's assistant, she had an idea.  "What if I just begged for a little more time?"  Charlene wondered.  "Excuse me, I was wondering if I could get a little extra time to work on my project?  I have a few more great ideas that I didn't get around to researching."
  "I'm sorry, Charlene, I'm not in charge of the timing.  You did understood the importance of this project, right?"
  "Yes, I just have so much more to do.  This will definitely affect my future, and I feel I could do better than this, if I just had a little more time."
  "You know you are not the first to feel this way.  It's funny how many people feel they could have done better.  The student before you said he had only worked on the project for seventy eight years.  Every day he devoted himself to it, and he thought he could still do more, too. I'm sure if you put your heart into it, you have nothing to worry about."
  The tears in Charlene's eyes silently steamed down her cheeks.  She hadn't put her heart into it.  She hadn't given it the time or thought it deserved.  She had waited until the last minute, and it was disappointing.  She handed the Teacher's assistant Peter her life's project entitled "How I Love God".  She had hoped to have had gathered so many more examples.  She was so disappointed with herself.  
  "Charlene, wait right here.  The Teacher is going to go over everything with you.  Good luck!" Peter smiled and then walked away.
  Dumbfounded, Charlene sunk into the nearby chair.  She closed her eyes and searched her memory bank. She wondered what she ever thought was more important than showing God how much she loved Him.  Oddly, she viewed her life so much differently from that chair.

-Susan

Total Joy

  This past week my family was blessed to welcome a new bundle of joy into our family!  With the birth of my granddaughter I found myself rejoicing over the gift of life!  How incredible is the birth of a child!  How miraculous are each and everyone of us!  
  At one point in our celebration, the nurse came in to give the new parents some instructions.  This of course caught the attention of my two youngest.  "Mom, she just explained everything the same way you did.  I guess you were right."
  I smiled and nodded my head in agreement.  In my head I thought, "Of course, I'm right.  Do you really think I would lead you astray."  And, it was at that moment, I realized there were times I may have responded to God's advise in the same way.  Why am I so surprised sometimes to discover the wisdom in God's words? 
  I wonder if He ever smiles at me and says, "Of course, I'm right.  I would never lead you astray. You are my child, I love you, and I plan to take very good care of you. "

-Susan
  

Open to Possibilities

  Riggs quickly walked up the path to his front door.  He was filled with anticipation.  He couldn't wait to get home tonight.  He put his key in the door and turned the knob.  A smile came across his face as he opened the door.  His eyes landed on a familiar face.  There was Jesus standing before him in the Divine Mercy Image that hung on the wall.  Riggs took his usual seat across from the Image.  He just sat there and asked Jesus to let His love and mercy flow through him.  No fancy words.  No long prayers.  Riggs closed his eyes, opened his heart and mind to the Lord, and allowed the silent voice of God to transform him.  It was the perfect way to begin his evening.

-Susan