My Slow Takes (vol. 10)

1. Dee and her Mom prepared lasagna, meatballs, sausage and salad on Sunday. We brought this dinner over to the fire station where our son Stephen is assigned. His wife Christina baked brownies for desert. It was a delicious meal and there were four very happy and content firemen at the end of the meal. 


2. Our dear friend Jeanne went in for a scheduled operation Monday morning. At Sunday Mass Father Jim did "anointing of the sick" for her in the small chapel. Jeanne's family and friends were in attendance for her. Afterward we went to Panera for brunch and our group was so large that we took up three large tables.


Watching the faces and listening to the conversations I knew that God's presence was there. There was love, support and laughter. We "broke bread" and prayed. It was a beautiful day.


The operation was successful and now our prayers are for Jeanne's quick and uneventful recovery. Thank you Lord.


3. Please read Jennifer Fulwiler's blog, "THOSE (Our Father, Word by Word.)

She is is a talented writer who has taken a word and applied it to our daily life. The concept of "good" and "bad" are easy to deal with if you believe you are not a sinner. I have to work at being good all the time. It's too easy to slip into a false reality. Dealing with people at work makes it even harder. In my daily prayers I ask for help when my faith wavers or my love for others hesitates. It's all part of life and wanting to follow Christ and His teachings.


My favorite quote from Jennifer's blog; "The only difference between being a good person and a bad person is the number of lies you allow yourself to believe."  


4. "For this reason reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."  Matthew19:3-12 

Today's Gospel means more to me today than when Dee and I were married on May 8th, 1971. On that day I left my mother and father started out on a new journey. There was no real plan as most people who were in love got married, had children and grew old together. It seemed simple but I soon learned that it wasn't. Marriage requires love and I was not really aware of what that meant. Fortunately, with God's blessing and Dee's love for me I began to understand what "shall become one flesh" means. It is through God's love for us and our love for God that binds us together. We love as He had taught us to love and each day it grows. There are times that it would have been nice if I figured it out sooner, but I'm thankful I know now and life is beautiful.