Caregiver

Today is the 6th day of Christmas! It is still entirely appropriate to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! At our house, we celebrate the 12 days of Christmas, culminating on the Feast of Little Christmas, or Epiphany on Jan. 6. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. There are just a few references to the Holy Family at the beginning of each Gospel. However few, these Scriptures give us a treasure trove of wisdom for families. One of my relatives says that she couldn’t relate to the Holy Family, in particular to Mary, because Mary had one child and He was perfect! I disagree. It is such an encouragement to me as a wife and a mother that God decided to come into the world through a family. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary (Luke 1:26-38) and born into a [...]

This Third week in Advent begins today with what we call, “Rejoicing Sunday”. Today, we light the one pink candle that stands out in the midst of the three purple ones on our Advent wreath. But as I write this, our lives are shocked by yet another profound human tragedy in our midst, the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newton, Conn. It was a very busy morning at my house. I quickly got Johanna up and ready for her day in the midst of trying to rush out the door for an early doctor appointment for myself. When I finally arrived home, Johanna had just finished reading about Hanukah with her teacher and they were gathering kitchen staples to help them make potato latkes. My husband and I changed shifts as he rushed out the door and I rushed around the house getting ready for our monthly visit [...]

Happy Advent! Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is the season of preparation and reflection for the birth of Christ. The early Church celebrated Advent as a time for repenting for the darkness in our lives and in the world and a time to hope for Christ to come as the light in our darkness. We prepare for everything in life. Some of us prepare well and in a timely manner, others do not prepare and are rushing in at the last minute to be sure everything is done. Still others like me, prepare, procrastinate, and prepare so that in the end my ability to be flexible gets the job done. Advent, like most spiritual journeys in life, can mirror our human experience, using the preparations for Christmas as spiritual jewels to magnify God’s Spirit at work in us. The holiday season is a huge time of preparation, [...]

For most of my life, I have tried to find God in the ordinary experiences of life. I have experienced the truth of the scripture from Jeremiah, “When you seek me, you will find me” Jeremiah 29:13. These experiences range from receiving something I was praying for, like a car or financial provision. Over the years the Lord has used the generosity of many and our own gifts of ingenuity to provide for our family in difficult circumstances. Gently used clothing, furniture and yes, even cars have been just a part of the ways God has used others to answer prayer. Wisdom coming in the form of a conversation or an article or a letter from a loved one could also be interpreted as a sign that God was at work answering a prayer for understanding or direction. These are all simple ways in which I see God moving in [...]

I found out I was pregnant with my fourth child, Johanna, just before Christmas in 1995. I remember that morning very well. I woke early to take the pregnancy test and to enjoy the quiet of the newly fallen snow. As I reveled in the excitement, I spent time bonding with the child within my womb, telling her that she was deeply loved and cared for and that God had a very special plan for her life. Then I turned to the daily readings for some wisdom for this baby whose little heart had just started beating before any of us knew she was there. The daily readings were celebrating the birth of John the Baptist “You, my child will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him...” (Luke 1:76). I knew this scripture was a [...]

Preparation for a major storm always brings extra added stress. Living with a special needs child who is medically fragile, I have a few added details to keep in my mind. There are critical seizure medications to refill and making certain that we have access to emergency medical care, despite any storm. One of the advantages of the difficult trials we have been through all these years is that we have to be ready for a crisis at any moment. I keep a hospital bag packed in my closet, ready to throw in the car at a moment’s notice. I also keep an updated medical summary which details medications and a surgical overview which readily explains my daughter’s condition to any medical professional. These storms of life are never easy, but I have learned that my faith can help me rise to the challenge. Matthew 14:22-33 provides an interesting boater’s [...]

Last weekend my husband and I traveled to Connecticut for my nephew’s wedding. We were planning to bring my daughter, Johanna, but she has been struggling with intense headaches and pain in her spine. As I tended to her the night before, I seriously thought of canceling the trip. That’s just what I do when Johanna isn’t feeling well because there are very few people who are comfortable caring for a medically fragile kid. However, an experienced friend and my son offered to care for Johanna so we could go to the wedding. Once the decision was made, I felt an overwhelming relief. It wasn’t until I boarded the ferry that the situation really hit me. As I was walking up the stairs of the boat, I realized that no one needed my help. I didn’t need to hold anyone’s hand (the older man beside me shuddered when I instinctively [...]

When I was in second grade, preparing for my first Holy Communion, the pastor gave a beautiful talk on how to get to know Jesus. His words, excitement and his smile are forever etched in my mind. He told us the best way to get to know Jesus was to walk and talk with him every day in the same way that we chose to walk and talk with a friend. I decided that I wanted a relationship with God and being the literal and diligent child that I was, I went home from church to begin my new walk with Jesus. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon in my Connecticut, suburban neighborhood when I started my first walk with Jesus. I extended my hand out to the side and I asked Jesus to take a walk with me. Certain that my hand was in his, I walked confidently and [...]

Depression is a real human emotion and a clinical diagnosis in certain circumstances. It is also a common human experience that most of us conceal from the world around us. Despite the endless parade of symptoms and drug solutions bombarding us on television, radio and internet, we oftentimes feel ashamed of depression and view it as a weakness rather than a symptom of an underlying problem. Many times depression is a response to an event. Happy events like the holidays can trigger what we now call the “holiday blues”. Sometimes grief over the loss of a loved one or disappointments can linger causing an underlying malaise that could be characterized as depression. Thanks to advances in neuroscience we now understand that many people have physiological deficiencies which can depress the production of neurotransmitters, chemicals in the brain which are responsible for transferring impulses to keep our brains, emotions and body [...]

Why do bad things happen to good people? This question has plagued believers and non-believers since the creation of the human race. The Old and New Testament and Judeo-Christian traditions offer insights without directly answering the question. Job is one such example. The Book of Job refers to Job as “blameless and upright man, who feared God and avoided evil” (Job 1:1). The first chapter expounds on the blessings Job received in his life; wealth, property, wife, children and farm animals abounding. Then, curiously enough toward the end of this chapter, the author explains that Satan asked God for permission to challenge Job’s holiness because he believes Job will forsake God when tested by trials. The Lord permits it and Job loses everything. As Job loses his wife, property, livestock and becomes afflicted with a terrible disease, his “friends” come out of the woodwork to explain why all these bad [...]