Blooming

There is so much of life that has changed. It just whizzes by. Those thirteen magical years I was home -- those baby, toddler, elementary school, middle school thirteen years I thought would last forever. Try as I could, I just could not let those days stay forever. They slipped through my hands. I adored those thirteen years but I'm hear to say that T H E S E years are just a formative -- just as mentoring -- just as sweet and important. 

(2015)

Like the past two evenings; my phone call with Anna in college. We talk every night. Mostly longer on the weekends we I can really sit down and listen carefully without the worry of time and so much to do on a weeknight. But always we talk. Most of the weeknights in our home are hustling. There's cooking, laundry, cleaning, school work (for all three of us), and all of the other things of course that we all do. But in a limited amount of time (gosh, I sure do fit in a lot from 4:15 (ish) til I fall asleep) Anna conversations just join our full nights. She's often on speaker phone while dishes clatter in the background, while I fold laundry and run to put another load in the dryer, etc. It's happy, and full and she fills me in. I get to hear her voice and all is well. 

But once in a while, like last night and tonight she shares a piece of her heart in a way that God has been leading her and it stops me. All those years. All those years pouring, mentoring over cups of tea and cookies. All those Bible verse read, hearts shared, Masses attended... somehow I get to hear that it sunk in. That she believes. That she's using her faith in her daily life. That she loves the Lord and wants His presence in her life. That she's listening. 

Last night so much of our talk was about social media and how we both gave it up for Lent and how fruitful it was and still is now. She shared some powerful things with me and how God used Lent to teach her. So beautiful. 

Tonight we were just chatting about some things that were bugging her. Not a big deal, just little annoyances. After we hung up she called back (we were all sitting down to dinner) and she told me she didn't like the way she felt when we were done. We reassured her it was okay to share her feelings. We happened to be in the middle of our family devotional time. (I read the daily readings from Mass each night at dinner along with a devotional that goes along with it) And somehow among a big pot of soup and yummy bread the reading today reached her heart in a beautiful way. I wished she was physically around our table sharing our dinner with us, but so grateful I could still reach her heart. 

Love this reading: 

1 Peter 5

Beloved: Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: 

God opposes the proud

but he bestows favor on the humble. 

So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all of your worries upon him because he cares for you. 

Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith...

The devotional talked about how when Mark wrote the gospel he included the part of Peter's life that were not perfect. You would think that Mark would steer clear of those stories out of reverence for Peter. But Peter wanted them in Mark's gospel. Maybe so we could see that he struggled to believe. How he slipped up. How regular life was not perfect for him. 

So much of life is not perfect. So much can be 'slip ups'. But I'm just so grateful to witness that all those hours, all that love, all those 'pouring in' mattered. Where I held onto faith -- my tiny mustard seed planted in Anna became great faith. 

This year, 2023, the cherry tree pictures without Anna here. This Anna tree bloomed even with her away. And it's a reminder -- the sweetest reminder that I get to be a witness to God's glory unfolding - unfolding in the heart of my daughter. 

Because I held on to my beliefs. 

Because I never let my ideals go. 

Because I prayed. 

I was not perfect all those years -- but I believe that God used the little I had and multiplied it.