Peacefulness...

Located on a busy downtown street is this beautiful old Catholic Cathedral.  It began as a chapel in 1776 that was part of a Spanish fort. The color of the outside has changed some over the years due to weathering and repainting and the structure itself changed from a simple chapel to a cathedral by 1866.  The structure again went through a 2 year restoration that began in 1966 and was completed in 1968.  The interior is beautiful and has the look and feel you would expect to find in the old cathedrals in Rome. There have also been changes on the inside as well over the decades, but none of these have changed the original feel you have when you walk through the front doors.  It immediately brings a sense of peace and a feeling of Christ walking beside you.  As is true of all of the older churches, this one has seen numerous and various ceremonies.  It has witnessed the beginning of life in the baptisms.  It has seen the joining of two lives into one in the many wedding ceremonies held there.  It has also heard the crying of God's children as we grieved with sadness at funerals.  

Thinking back through my family history, this beautiful cathedral has been a part of a child's growing faith as my mother, her sister and brother went to church there each week as children.  It is where my great grandfather's funeral services were held - long before I came along.  It has also seen the funerals of my grandfather, great grandmother, several great aunts and both of my parents.  Every time I attend church service in this cathedral I not only feel the presence of God, but I feel the presence of my family with me.  It is a very peaceful and blessed feeling.

"One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock."
Psalm 27:4-5

Reflections...

Sometimes it's a good idea to reflect on our lives.  There have been many times in my own life when I felt something was missing.  It was as if there was an emptiness or a void in my heart that I needed to fill.   Although I was working full time, I  often signed up for volunteer work with agencies such as the Juvenile Diabetes Association, Special Olympics, a Junior Achievement Program, United Way and the American Cancer Society.  I became very active and often took on leadership roles.  I loved being able to contribute my time and myself to all of these.  I loved working with the kids, planning the walk-a-thons and participating in them, but I still felt as if I was missing something.  No matter how many organizations I volunteered for, I still felt a void.  As I continued to search out activities and organizations, I also continued to attend church and pray for the answer.  After much reflection, I realized that although my volunteer work was very helpful to each of the groups I worked with and helped me to feel happy I was able to give back, I knew that simply participating in more and more volunteer work was not filling the void.  I began to realize the emptiness and void I felt was spiritual. It was as if I was missing something in my faith.  Now I need to tell you that I was raised in a very strong Christian (Catholic) family.  I attended church every Sunday and made sure I said my prayers every day, but that didn't seem to be enough.  I struggled with this for almost 20 years before I figured it out.  During those 20 years my life changed quite a bit.  My marriage ended in divorce, a dear, sweet sister-in-law and both my parents died within 2 years of each other and I changed careers.  My sister-in-law and my mother both died in tragic accidents and my father died of a heart attack.

At this point you are probably asking, what was I seeking that I hadn't been able to find for so long?   It was finding friends who shared my belief in our Lord and felt as strongly about their faith as I did.  Friends who not only studied and could discuss the Bible, but who also lived their lives according to God's word.  Once I was able to share what was in my heart, exchange books and quote scripture with them, I found the void was gone.  It was similar to many things in this life, I didn't know what I was seeking until I found it.  It wasn't finding Jesus, because He had always been there for me, it was finding others to share Him with.

"...that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened, that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by one another's faith, yours and mine."

        ~Romans 1; 11-12

Memorial Day Rememberances....

Yesterday was Memorial Day….. A day when we remember and honor all of the fallen soldiers who gave their lives for this incredible country we live in.

Until we take the time to look outside the borders of this great country, we cannot really understand what an incredibly good life we have all been blessed with - simply because of God's Grace for placing us in the country we live in.


Over all the years this country has been in existence the men and women in our military forces have defended our constitution, our way of life and our freedom.  There have been, and still are, times when we seem to forget or take for granted how good our lives can be in comparison to many, many other countries around the world. The families of those who fought and gave their lives so we could enjoy the freedoms we have in America, will never forget - and neither should any of us.


It is said that "When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure".


Days of remembrance, like this Memorial Day, become days of treasured memories and days of patriotism.  This is the patriotism we all should exhibit every day.  We should remember, honor and treasure those who gave their lives and all those who fought to build and sustain this country on so many wonderful values. America was built by Christian men who thanked their Father in Heaven for all they had been blessed with.  They included His name in high ranking documents that are still in force today - hundreds of years later.  These men fought valiantly to make sure all men and women in America would live in freedom, have the choice to choose our own religion, to pursue our dreams, to have the ability to speak up for right and wrong without fear of retaliation, and to choose our friends and those we want to associate with.


Another saying is that in this life you meet people who forget you.  You forget people you meet. But sometimes you meet those you cannot forget. Those people are your "friends".  Those people hold a special place in your memory and in your heart - no matter how close or far you may live from one another.


I went to the cemetery today to visit my Grandmother and Step-Grandfather's graves. The section of the cemetery where they are was, and still is, reserved for military personnel and their families.  My grandmother, "Nani" and her husband "Papa" who served as a Sergeant in WWI are buried side by side. There were flags that had been placed on every grave.  As I sat on the grass between their two graves, I was overwhelmed by the sea of U.S. Flags across the grounds.  It was very moving to sit in the quiet and feel the love and dedication it took for a group of people to place each of the flags so all of the military buried there could be honored.


I love the anonymous quote that states: 
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."


How true all of these quotes and sayings are.  As I sat there today, my mind became a flood of wonderful memories I had, mostly of my Grandmother because my Papa had passed when I was young and my memories of him are few.  But I also had an overwhelming feeling of pride as I looked at all of the American flags and knew that those placed on the grave of a military man or woman was a way of saying "Thank you" for all they had done to keep our country free and as I got up to leave, I said a prayer for all of them and a thank you for all they had done.

 

"Life gives us brief moments with another...but sometimes in those brief moment we get memories that last a life time..." – Anonymous

My memory of this day will last a lifetime.

"Happy are the people who know you Lord, who walk in the radiance of
your face. In your name they sing joyfully all the day..." 

~Psalms 89; 16-17

I pray that each and every soldier, whose grave I saw today,

knew the Lord and are now happy in His presence.