....AND LENTEN SEASON BEGINS...

Yes, it's that time of year for us Catholics,

that we place ashes on our foreheads today

and begin 6 weeks of fasting, praying,

giving up, doing for others, etc.

It, for me, is almost like New Years Resolutions,

another chance to renew all those plans I had

when the new year began.

Yet, it is different for me during Lent.

I feel like I am not doing it for me but doing it for God.

I won't list all my intentions for the next few weeks

as it is best to keep that in your heart,

between yourself and your God.

I am not one of those who believe you must

do anything and everything that organized religion

 preaches to get to Heaven.

I am a firm believer that the life you live,

the forgiveness you ask God for throughout your life,

what you do for others, is what get you to Heaven.

I also believe there are those "bends in the road"

that try and throw you off track to find reasons

not to follow what God wants for you.

For instance, I have found myself far from

My God since the separation.

I did not blame God for the happenings,

I blamed us, Ron and I but I still felt like

I lost my way for a while in my faith.

I realize now that God, well, like I always say,

he had the helicopter view and he

knew Ron and I were better apart,

both happier than we had been together.

Then there was last Wednesday.

It was Grandparents mass at St. John School

where Bean goes, is in the PreK 3 class.

I was so excited to go,

my first, Grandparent mass with my 

first born grandchild. 

I was there right on time, but I did not realize,

everyone would be there, like everyone who 

has a grandchild in Plaquemine.

Parking was tough. So I decided in my head,

"Hey, we are all here for the same reason, i will

block two cars and because of the wonderful reason

we are all here for, it will be okay.

I know if it had been my car blocked, I would

have felt so high after that beautiful mass

Father Greg gave us, that it would not have mattered

how long I was blocked, I would have waited with 

a smile on my face.

This is where the differences of people come to play,

maybe the evil in the world, right there in the parking

lot of our own Catholic Church.

Right after Communion and the last prayer,

I hand Bean to her other great Maw Maw

and explain, I am blocking a car and just don't want

to be there long. I leave Bean crying wanting both

her grandmothers to stay.

No explaining will help or get me out of there sooner.

So I kiss and hug her and her Maw Maw,

tell them I love them and exit through the side door.

I am feeling so good, so uplifting, telling myself,

I need to get myself back to church because it makes

me feel so good. There standing outside her car I blocked

is an irate lady. I right away, start apologizing,

she unloads on me,

"This is just so rude, how could you just take it upon

yourself to park illegally and block me in"

I could just go off on her but I know that is not what

God wants, I apologize, tell her she is right,

that I just wanted to spend the mass with my little

granddaughter.....

She cuts me off before I can finish.

I will get no where with her, so as I walk to my car

to get out of her way, I just start reciting the

Hail Mary....

Loudly, I don't know if she heard but I know 

I did. Right at first, I was upset by it,

I could have let it ruin my day but decided

NO, I won't. She may have let this ruin her day,

I was wrong, but God knew I was where I needed to be.

So today, I use this story to just set us all

up for our Lenten season. Don't let the bends in the 

road push you away from what your heart wants you to do

not only for the next six weeks but throughout your life.

May the next few weeks bring you peace and a closeness

To God if you have lost your way as I have.

the Big Man, he gets it, he gets our humanness.

Try and do what God would do.

For instance, a few days ago, when I could just not

go anywhere on the highway even though I had a green light,

because of traffic, I got honked at.

I turned around to see and older man and his wife,

he was sitting on that horn.

I turned around and my first instinct was to shoot him 

the bird. It's what my Dad would have done.

Instead I turned to make sure they saw me,

did a very exaggerated sign of the cross and put my

hands together like I was praying for them.

I saw the elderly lady hit her hubby across the chest,

she smiled and waved.

Don't know if I made a difference in their day,

but I know I did mine.

Happy Lenten season to all.