Grace

Today, I need it. 

I need grace to wake up every half hour in the night.

I need grace to watch my husband sleep peacefully and not feel resentful.

I need grace to do laundry with one hand.

I need grace to eat my breakfast over a two hour period of time.

I need grace to continually replace a pacifier in a fussy baby's mouth.

I need grace to not cry every time the baby monitor lights up.

I need grace to turn off the trashy tv and make time for prayer.

I need grace to brush my teeth and be ok with wearing yoga pants all day.

It is only 11am and I've needed a heaping load of grace already. I know even more is needed to get me to bed time. 

So today, I am thankful. Oh so incredibly thankful for my God who heaps His perfect grace into my mess of a heart on days like today.

Amen.

Thank You, O God...

This morning as I reflected on the Gospel, I began to think of all the things I am thankful for, but haven't presented my thanks to God for them. The list is long, my friends! 

Sometimes I feel like the other nine lepers that didn't return to Jesus after he healed them. It seems I am only like the tenth leper when something huge happens in my life. And that's not ok. 

I love this meditation by Saint Faustina Kowalska reflecting on this verse from today's Gospel:

"He fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him" (Luke 17: 11-19)

"Thank you, O God, for all the graces Which unceasingly you lavish upon me, Graces which enlighten me with the brilliance of the sun, For by them you show me the sure way. Thank you, O Lord, for creating me, For calling me into being from nothingness, For imprinting your divinity on my soul, The work of sheer merciful love. Thank you, O God, for Holy Baptism Which engrafted me into your family, A gift great beyond all thought or expression Which transforms my soul. Thank you, O Lord, for Holy Confession, For that inexhaustible spring of great mercy, For that inconceivable fountain of graces In which sin-tainted souls become purified. Thank you, O Jesus, for Holy Communion In which you give us yourself. I feel your Heart beating within my breast As you cause your divine life to unfold within me. Thank you, O Holy Spirit, for the Sacrament of Confirmation, Which dubs me your knight And gives strength to my soul at each moment, Protecting me from evil… Thank You, O Lord, for the Sacrament of Anointing Which, in my final moments, will give me strength; My help in battle, my guide to salvation, Fortifying my soul till we rejoice forever. Thank you, O God, for all the inspirations That your goodness lavishes upon me, For the interior lights given my soul, Which the heart sense but words cannot express. Thank you, O Holy Trinity, for the vastness of the graces Which you have lavished on me unceasingly through life. My gratitude will intensify as the eternal dawn rises, When, for the first time, I sing to your glory."

So today, despite the snow and cold and dreading the thought of taking Cana out into the mess, I am dwelling instead of the many things I am thankful for. They far outweigh the bad!