However, last night and today I did something that forced me to be still. Greensboro is in the middle of conducting 40 Days for Life in which at least two people stand in front of an abortion clinic and peacefully pray for the end of abortion and for healing. Not to get political or into a debate on here but I'm sharing with you that I gave 2 hours of my time to 40 Days last night and today through this blog posting. This afternoon, amidst the brightly shining sun and softly blowing breeze, I prayed the rosary and Divine Mercy chaplet with a friend. We finished about 20 minutes early and concluded our hour with silent prayer. I did okay with this for about 10 minutes but then my wind started wandering. It's so rare that I am forced to be still and not be focusing on doing something else.
As I struggled to keep my mind on prayer, I thought of my first exposure to abortion. The earliest experience I can recall is watching Tami on the Real World on MTV going through it. At that time, it was groundbreaking reality tv to show a woman going through and dealing with abortion on air. I was too young to realize all the psychological ramifications.....
I then thought of my beautiful niece and nephews, here in NC and in Philly, and how I would miss them so if I didn't have them in my life. We have had all made mistakes, and will continue to make mistakes, but the innocent love and peace in an infant's or child's face is so joyful that you can't help but smile when around them....even when they are fighting, not sharing, crying, keeping you up at night...hah! Life is such a beautiful gift...who are we, as human beings, to say that we can determine when and where life should be extinguished? I'm not talking about just abortion here but in general in terms of controlling and dictating what happens...when a murderer takes the life of a victim, when we sentence people to death for a crime committed, when we go to war and kill people to solve a problem, when we seek short term pleasure over long term gratification?
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| Not so sure about going to teeball practice...! |
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| He's so proud that he can run around and (try to) keep up with his big brother & sister now! |
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| Innocent happiness....happy just because...! |
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| Tuckered out from the Blessing of the Animals, Mr. Turtle and she took a snooze on the way home...what a honor it is to be entrusted to care for these little ones!! |
This line of thinking then led me to think about something I read the other day about keeping your eyes on God and letting the rest fall away...Psalm 37 talks about the wicked ways of others and how you should not cling to possessions or materials but seek truth and set your feet on straight paths. I know that I personally struggle with letting go, forgiving myself, and letting God be in control so need to continue working on this in my life. In the meantime, it helps to have awesome friends who remind me through their calls & conversations that we're not in this alone and that we all get by with a little help from our friends!
As I drove home this afternoon, I heard Kim Kalman, a Catholic singer songwriter friend from Outer Banks, sing, "Carry Me". Click here for a snippet of this beautiful song. I thought of how much I love my niece and nephews and how much my parents love me...and really beyond that of how God loves each of us so much more than all of that love we feel toward others put together. How lucky are we to have such a loving Father who only wants what's best for us...even if we can't see it just yet!? So, with the help of our friends & family, let's allow ourselves to be carried and realize we're not alone! Enjoy this recent video of Kim performing a "living room concert" singing one of my favorite songs. I can hardly wait to hear her sing it at my NC church in January!!!!
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