The backside is beautiful, too

"We can embrace our whole life story in the knowledge that we have been graced and made beautiful by the providence of our past history."

Brennan Manning, "Reflections for Ragamuffins"

This is so amazing to ponder. We can look through the pages of our past and see God's hand in so many of the events. And then we can realize that God was so present for us even when we couldn't see God's hand, exactly. And we can also realize that the mistakes we made, were lessons to be learned. The people who crossed our paths, even briefly, were teachers for us or, perhaps, students. They needed to touch our journey in their own way, somehow. All that we have been through has prepared us for where we are right now. And that is such a neat God-thing. Take time this weekend to reflect on the life you have led and appreciate that it is a tapestry of beautiful design. The dangling strings on the backside of it may seem haphazard and disorganized. But they made up the front of it, which is beautiful. Blessings on your weekend! Love, heidi

Holy is his name...

..."and Holy is His Name..."

Luke 1:49

The Canticle of Mary (Luke 1:46-55) is one of the most magnificent scripture passages in the whole bible, in my opinion. And it was put to music beautifully by John Michael Talbot in his song, "Holy is His Name." We sang it last night at our Assumption mass and the chorus occurred as I was walking up to communion. It was one of the most beautiful experiences I've encountered! To think such a young girl, as Mary was when this occurs in scripture, could be so profound and wise...and know exactly what it's all about. I urge you to go to the link below and play this song...close your eyes and just meditate on the words of young Mary. Your heart will be so awed by the greatness of God! Love, heidi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TEL_7TS5FE

God in the munching...

"I will bless the Lord at all times; praise shall be always in my mouth..."

Psalm 34:2

I spent the weekend with my Sisters of Charity friends in the mountains of Montana. It was everything I hoped it would be and more! Yesterday, we silently watched a doe making her breakfast of the foliage around the cabin. She didn't seem fazed by our presence at all, but must have felt safe there. Watching the doe, I noticed she would munch, munch, munch for a bit, then suddenly look up, twitch her ears and glance around. Munch, munch, stop, look, listen. When she decided all was well she returned to her breakfast. Observing this gift of nature taught me: there is great beauty in our day to day lives. I return to work today, after this wee respite, and my work-a-day life seems different; more meaningful, perhaps. God is in the details, the mundane, the beautiful. And for that, praise shall be always in my mouth. Love, heidi