Comfort

 If you know me at all you know I am most comfortable in my jeans, my Fear Nothing shirt and my Hike Barefoot shoes.  The two things pictured are also always a part of my wardrobe.  The pocket rosary goes in the left pocket and the wooden cross in the right.  Like my grand daughter Ali Jay is with her blankie, I am with these two things.  I catch myself when I am stressed or worried as well as many other times throughout the day I check my pocket and verify that they are there.  These bring a sense of comfort that some may find silly and not understand.  

Everyone is dealing with something.  All parents have worries with their children and grandchildren, and I am sure to each of us it sometimes seems like our problems are larger than life.  When Heather was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer almost 4 years ago I didn't know if I would survive.  I was angry, scared, sad and confused.  How? How does this happen to a wife and mom of four young sons? In my mom fashion I read about rapists and murderers and all kinds of people that I felt maybe it should have been instead of her. I won't lie, it was and sometimes still is hard to understand God's plan.  

I wasn't raised in a church.  As a child my parents believed in God, but didn't belong to a church.  Other than a few bible school summers I didn't really feel like religion was a part of my life.  I was dating a guy in high school that was Catholic.  When he was killed in a car wreck I attended his funeral and was, to be honest, a little overwhelmed because I didn't understand the Catholic religion at all.  Fast forward to when I met Todd.  He would take Heather to church with him when I worked on Sundays and his Mom and Dad didn't miss mass.  When I knew that he was the one i was going to spend the rest of my life with I decided I wanted to learn about and also join the church.  Father Vitus Duschinsky was the priest who Todd and I met with every week for 8 - 10 weeks to help me learn about the Catholic faith.  He was one of the most loving and compassionate people I have ever met.  We actually looked forward to our weekly meetings with him.  Father Vitus was who gave me the sacraments of baptism, first communion and confirmation.  He was such a wonderful priest.  

Over the years I haven't been the perfect Catholic by any means.  I have missed mass more than I like to admit and I have a lot of room to improve in my life, but I have always remained faithful.  I do believe God does have a plan.  He has one for my family and for me as well.  I have to constantly remind myself to keep believing.  I also believe that without the many prayers being sent for Heather she wouldn't be here continuing to fight.  I believe that God is good and the two things above help me remember that, which brings me comfort.  

Make sure you take the time to enjoy the moments, each and every one.  Make sure if you have the chance to make another person's day better, do it.  We all only have a limited time here so make sure when you leave this world the memories you helped make with others are good ones.  Much Love!