Life on Purpose

  A nasty respiratory infection leads to a spiritual epiphany, just as news arrived of the Boston Marathon terror attack: Life on Purpose by Eileen Benthal. I felt the cough take hold of me as I steadied my coffee, careful not to dump it all over the floor or the person standing next me in the deli. I thought if I could just inconspicuously cover my mouth with my elbow and walk out the door, I would be fine. But it gripped me like someone was holding a hand around my neck. Thankfully the bathroom door before me was unlocked and I slipped in quickly just as the coughing bout escalated, causing my whole body to convulse. This episode continued for a few minutes. All I wanted to do was get outside so I could breathe. This virus hit me very hard the day before, as I struggled to lead [...]

If you woke this Easter morning, with the old familiar feeling that your life is never going to get any better, then think again. My mom used to say that if March came in like a lion, it would leave like a lamb. Spending the better part of March in the hospital with my daughter, I was hoping for a little quiet time at Easter. But instead, we began Holy Week at NYU meeting with my daughter’s neurosurgeon to remove the staples that crowned her precious head from this last round of surgeries. An increase in seizures, headaches and lethargy prompted her doctor to do an MRI of the brain. The scans revealed a significant change over the past two weeks; one of the malformations in her temporal lobe is hemorrhaging, causing swelling in the brain. The news wasn’t surprising, but it was more than a little discouraging, as I [...]

The other night I woke to a newborn baby crying. The cries startled me and wakened me from a deep sleep. I was disorientated, trying to figure out where I was and where was this baby who needed me in the middle of the night. After what seemed like a long time, but was really just a few moments, I came to my senses and remembered that I was still at NYU in the pediatric ICU, sleeping next to my daughter. As my brain put the pieces together, I was reminded of the day I realized that my daughter Johanna no longer cried like a newborn. We were in the same place, a pediatric ICU and Johanna was four months old and undergoing her third brain surgery. I heard that distinctive newborn cry which caused me to leak milk as my maternal instincts strove to comfort my baby, who was [...]

What does it mean to be transfigured? The answers to profound questions often come in unexpected places. Life on Purpose by Eileen Benthal. I love to hang out in my laundry room. It is just outside my bedroom; a cute little room with a window. I love the smell of fresh, clean laundry. But the main reason I love my laundry room is my prayer corner is tucked in between two walls and a window that looks out at the barn in my back yard. I like to think of this space as a place where heaven and earth converge. Here, the practical mundane tasks of my life become one with eternity. I ask the Lord to transform my daily life with an eternal hope of heaven and to show me His hand at work. Last year, I added a treasured painting to my collection of images in my prayer [...]

No matter how angry you get at God, no matter how much you push Him away, the love letters keep coming. Just as we packed away the Christmas decorations, hearts and roses appeared on the seasonal shelves of every store. Valentine’s Day is a cheery spot in the dead of winter. No matter the reason, expressing our love for one another is a good thing. In fact, I would say it is a God thing. One of my favorite scriptures is one simple verse: “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 3:16). When we know we are loved, it’s easier to love. When we know we are loved unconditionally, our lives are changed. I have tried to assure my children that they were loved unconditionally by us and by God. I used this scripture to teach them that God loved us first; from the beginning of our lives, [...]

Forgiveness is a vitally important part of a happy, healthy life. Recent studies on the effects of forgiveness on our health have confirmed that an inability to forgive causes excess stress hormones and depletes the immune system, leaving a person at risk for developing chronic and life-threatening diseases. Judeo-Christian traditions require repentance and forgiveness. Verses throughout the Old and New Testament leave little doubt that God expects us to forgive those who have wronged us. A life of forgiveness gives us greater peace. But forgiveness is work. I would pose that it is the most important work we will ever do in our lives. Like all work, forgiveness has certain requirements in order to make it happen. Faith: Forgiveness requires faith in a power outside us. Forgiveness is not a natural tendency; it is an empowered choice from a higher source. One has to believe there is a power greater [...]

The poetic wisdom of Ecclesiastes reminds us that change is a part of life. God has made everything appropriate in its time, and there is a time, and a purpose, for every event under heaven. Life on Purpose by Eileen Benthal. I love the changing seasons. I love the warmth and light of the summer months. But after August days of sweltering heat, my body welcomes the cool change of September mornings and the crisp smell of autumn leaves, mums and pumpkins. The vibrant colors of the trees awaken my senses to a change in the air. What I love best about winter is the quiet that envelopes my world with new-fallen snow. Life slows down when it snows. All the imperfections in the land — the weeds I never pulled from garden, the landscaping left undone — all disappear beneath that blanket of white. Just when we’ve had enough [...]

Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. -Ephesians 5:2 (NIV) This year I made one resolution: “Live in love.” I think I should have picked something a little easier like “lose 50 pounds.” But I figured that living in love covers all other resolutions. Are you living with someone who has resolved to lose weight or quit smoking and have a perfectly clean house? If they haven’t also resolved to be more loving towards others, than I suggest you get out of the way of their new resolve. It might not be pretty. If you ask my family how I am doing, two weeks into my new year’s resolution, they would probably laugh and say, “What resolution?” I didn’t tell anyone about my resolve because I didn’t want them to hold me [...]

Yes, faith can move mountains...Eileen's late-night vision in the pediatric intensive care unit is shared by Johanna in a dream and an Epiphany miracle takes place... Life on Purpose by Eileen Benthal If you drive up Herricks Lane in Jamesport, you will find that indeed the Christmas lights and the trees are still up at my house. It’s not because we are lazy and disorganized, it’s because we choose to celebrate 12 days of Christmas all the way through to the Feast of Epiphany, or what is often referred to as Little Christmas. In some cultures, Little Christmas is the main gift giving feast, honoring the visit of the Magi, who brought gifts to the newborn King at Bethlehem. At our house, Little Christmas is a fun morning to share small gifts and have our final celebration with a big family meal. The stockings are filled with post-Christmas sale chocolate, a [...]

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 [...]