Lovingly Maintained

Four years ago our eldest daughter-who had only been married three weeks was in a terrible car accident. She took the full force of a car that went through a red light.
The driver didn't remember seeing any light.

It's a call you hope never to receive. I remember crying, but more than that I remember the sound that came from my body. It was a sound that I had never heard before or since. A mother moaning for her child.

We had no idea at that moment what the future held for her. I wasn't there to stop the car. I wasn't there to stop the pain, the blood. I couldn't maintain. I couldn't maintain what happened.

While I was still oblivious to the accident, God sent angels alongside her. Firemen and paramedics who cut the metal to free her. Doctors and nurses whose hands knew exactly what to do. A chorus of prayers.

God was there.

Now, in just a few weeks, that same daughter-who God has so lovingly held and blessed-will, along with her husband, welcome their first child. Our first grandchild. A miracle.

As I sat in church the other week and listened to the prayer of St. Patrick,I was reassured and affirmed once again of Gods love and mercy upholding and surrounding us. I thought of my children, husband, loved ones now in heaven who had finished the race and of people I don't even know, who suffer in the darkness.

It was also the Sunday when families gather to give thanks for the gift of new life in their family. One father began to pray thanking God for the precious gift they had been entrusted with. He then said "Lord, because you are the creator of this child, you know best how to maintain." Amen brother.

Peace,
Ruth V

I`m So Glad God Is Love

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel
before the Lord our Maker.
Psalm 95:6

Peace,
Ruth V

The Italian Grocery Lady

Awhile back, a cashier at the grocery store commented on the bread I was buying, and told me how much she enjoyed it with a cup of coffee. I agreed . Soon my visits to the grocery store were made special if she happened to be working that day. I started to always go to her line, even if other ones were moving faster.

Together we have had great conversations about delightful foods to have with a good cup of coffee, art, children and interesting little places to visit.

One day as we were speaking of our children, she looked at me and said, "I've always believed raising children is ones greatest masterpiece."

Priceless items at the checkout.

Peace.
Ruth V.

It's O.K. To Be Happy

Sometimes I think there is a general feeling of guilt about being happy.

I understand and ache for all the brokenness and sadness in our world. From my vantage point I know I don’t truly understand the pain, but I wish I could heal it.

I also understand many people are hurting with deep personal wounds. In our small corners we are called to comfort.

With the bombardment of bad news and so many causes seeking our attention, we can forget that goodness ultimately wins.

Part of my Irish soul has a tendency to wait for the other shoe to drop. Unchecked, it can steal the joy of the moment. I also know we Irish can look at life and sometimes be crying and laughing almost at the same time. Irish wakes are a great tribute to this fact, for in the middle of all the loss there is also great joy and love for life.

We need to smile more. We need to laugh more. We need to be thankful more.
Brighten your corner.

In the words of the traditional Irish ode of farewell The Parting Glass, “Goodnight and joy be with you all.”

Peace,
Ruth V

The Journey

This past week has turned my heart towards Heaven. Sometimes it's hard to believe there is such an address, and yet other times it seems as close as my own heartbeat.

There is much treasure stored in Heaven for each of us. People we love, who we often miss on a warm summer night. Little ones that we didn't even get to say a proper hello to, and a Saviour who holds us in the palm of his hand.

A journey of saying goodbyes at the bend in the road, of saying hello at the next corner. Life is a continual flow of celebration and sorrow almost in the same mystic wisp of breath.

I came across a poem awhile ago which I thought beautifully expressed how close we are to that great mystery.

Death Is Nothing At All

Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room.
I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other, we still are.

Call me by an old familiar name.
Speak to me in the easy way you always did.
Laugh as we always laughed
At the little jokes we enjoyed together
Play, smile, pray for me.

Let my name be forever the household word
Let it be spoken with effect
Life means all that it ever meant
There is absolutely unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind because i'm out of sight?
I am but waiting for you
For an interval, somewhere very near
Just around the corner all is well
Nothing is hurt, nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
-Henry Scott Holland 1847-1918

Peace,
Ruth V.

My Wee Irish Ma

Yesterday was my mother's birthday. This wee Irish lady who made me feel safe, who taught me much about life through a John Lennon song and more about God and prayer with her eyes open rather than closed.

I remember-she doesn't. Alzheimers has stolen her memory, but not her Irish soul that still twinkles through like angel rays.

I remember fresh baked soda bread with warm butter running down my arms. I remember impromptu Irish jigs in the kitchen and her lessons on juggling. I remember love.

Now, I could walk down the hall of the nursing home and she would pass right by me not knowing I am hers-but I know. Thanks Ma.

Síochán,
Ruth

A Full Heart

I believe I was put on this earth to be a mother. There. I said it. I didn’t whisper it. To me saying such a thing is like saying I believe I was put on this earth to be queen-presumptuous. However deep in my heart I do believe it.

Years ago when a certain young man asked me what I wanted to do with my life, I didn’t whisper the answer then either. I thought either he runs or stays. Fortunately for me he stayed, and God has blessed us with an incredible family.

I have had the joy and pleasure of being a mother to six incredible human beings. The goal has always been that they would grow up to be people with good hearts-and they have.

A good heart is important. With a good heart you can accomplish so much. A good heart has pure motives, seeks to do what’s right and cares. Someone once said that you can’t pull yourself up by your own bootstraps without a good heart. A good heart is resilient.

So this is my little ode to my children and husband who allow me to live out a dream, and the beautiful adventure we have together. You are incredible.

Peace,
Ruth