.png)
Well, it is exactly one month until I leave Alabama and head off to our next duty station-our 5th cross-country move.
My friend and I were laughing about how in one year, we both will have lived in three states. For me, it’s Virginia, Alabama, and California.
If you ask how we do it as military spouses, well…we just do.
The place we are going is a place we’ve been before and it’s very isolated and very in the desert. So, I haven’t been thrilled about the move and I’ve complained ALOT.
I was telling my priest about how I felt bad for complaining so much and how I should be grateful for all I do have and he said to me, “Go home and read the account of the flight to Egypt.”
I did and right away I knew why he had me read it. I doubt Mary and Joseph wanted to go to Egypt. They probably just wanted to go home to their town, their friends, and their family. But, God needed them to go in order to protect Our Savior.
Mary followed Joseph’s lead and Joseph did what needed to be done.
Mary has been a great source of strength for me during this time of preparing to go back into the desert and follow my husband to a place I’m not super thrilled about. I know she didn’t complain or gripe.
I’ll follow my husband because the military needs him out there in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t sign up for this life to go to super cool places, we signed up to serve our country—my husband in a very direct way, me in an indirect way.
Sometimes life plants you not necessarily where you want to be but where you need to be, Catholic Pilgrims. As my priest so wisely showed me, we can fight against it and be miserable or we can model the Holy Family and be obedient, loving, and grateful.
Have a blessed Wednesday.
*This is a picture from the town of Wetumpka. As my kids say, “That’s the most Alabama-sounding town name ever.”
Make sure you say it with a southern accent to get it just right.
As my husband and I drove through many small Irish towns recently, one of the things we were struck by was how nearly every home was clean and well-kept. These were not palaces of wealthy people, but simple, ordinary homes that clearly had owners that took a lot of pride in their property. There was hardly any trash to be seen, lawns were well manicured, and flowers were abundant. There were signs up that said, "Keep your town tidy," which I love. Tidy. I love that they use that word. The other thing that was striking to us was that there wasn't major industry in the towns; most of them were just simple agricultural areas. There was always a pub, though. Gotta have a pub. 😀 My point is, is that these were not areas with a booming economy. My maternal grandparents were from a tiny, tiny Kansas town. When I was a kid, even though the town was little, the people had pride in keeping the town nice. Most homes were kept up, the little downtown had flower pots overflowing with flowers that the women of the town planted. Storefronts were quaint and old-timey. It was charming. It's been a few years since I've been there but the last time I was, everything was in a state of decay. It was an agricultural area back in the day and it still is today, but the effort is not there anymore. Whenever I bring this up, someone always says, "Well, the area is poor, so that's why." To which I ask, "Poor people can't keep things clean?" Beauty is of God and we are supposed to imitate God. As humans, we have the ability to create beauty out of chaos and make things pleasant and appealing. The real problems are screens and drugs. Too many waste hours and hours staring at screens and too many use drugs. This leads to neglect of surroundings and neglect makes us depressed. Part of our mission everyday as Catholics is to bring beauty, truth, and goodness to any situation we find ourselves in. It won't always be well received, but the alternative is that ugliness, lies, and debauchery will run amok. Bring the beauty this week, Catholic Pilgrims. Everyone is starved for it. *Ruins are of Cong Abbey in Cong, Ireland.
Continue ReadingWhen people find out I'm from Kansas, one of two things happens. Sometimes both things happen. 1. They ask if I've been in a tornado. 2. They make some reference to "The Wizard of Oz." As to question number one, my answer is, "Well, sort of." I had to sped away from a tornado once. I was at a lake fishing with my then boyfriend and a sheriff's deputy came pulling up hot to us, jumped out of his car, and said, "Hey, get out of here! There's a tornado right over those trees!" We looked, saw it, dashed to the truck, and sped off Dukes of Hazard like. So, that's my tornado story. As to making "Wizard of Oz" references to me, I charge $1.00 per reference. 😉😎 Today's small-town church showcase is St. John's located in Spearville, Kansas. Spearville is on the side of the state that I didn't spend a whole lot of time in. Most of my time and life was spent on the east side, Spearville is more southwest-ish. This picture is beautiful, btw. Kansas has the best sunsets and I'll die on that hill. Per the church website, in 1903, this town was growing, but it lacked a church. Catholics had to make a long journey over to Dodge City for services and so, one day, members of the town got together and decided they needed to build their own church. That original structure soon became too small and the church you see here was built and dedicated in 1918. It seems that even today, the church in this little town is doing well. So, if you ever find yourself out in western Kansas and need some time with Jesus, maybe stop in to St. John's in little 'ole Spearville. I'm sure the good Kansas locals will be happy to welcome you. Oh, and catch a sunset, too. Have a great day, Catholic Pilgrims.
Continue ReadingHave you ever wondered what the rich young man in Matthew 19 thought Jesus would say to him? He goes up to Jesus, asks him what good he must do to gain eternal life, and after hearing Jesus' answer, he goes away sad. I'm curious what he expected Jesus to say. He tells Jesus that he follows all the commandments and he obviously feels like there is something more that he should be doing. I just wonder what it is that he was expecting. Or, maybe he didn't know what to expect, but it wasn't "go sell your stuff and come follow me." The other thing that strikes me about the young man is that even though he decides not to follow Jesus, he goes away sad. He doesn't go away confident that he's on the right path. He doesn't think Jesus is crazy and dismisses Him. He doesn't laugh at Jesus and try to convince Him that he really doesn't need to do that. No, he goes away sad. We all need to remember that Jesus will always call us to more, so we should expect that. Whatever He calls us to is going to involve a bit of pain in someway because He is most certainly going to call us away from our own will. That is always painful, because, deep down, we trust ourselves more to give us happiness than we just God. If we ask God what more we can do, and we can definitely tell which direction He's leading us, but we choose to ignore it, it will always make us sad. Why? Because God just showed us the potential He sees in us and we declined. That will never make us feel good. Jesus knows what will bring us true happiness, Catholic Pilgrims. We must trust that it's better than what we see for ourselves. Live the faith boldly and travel well this Monday.
Continue Reading.png)
.png)
.png)