Mary, Undoer of Knots

In case you haven't guessed by now, I am in love with the Blessed Mother. I digress... I am in love with the Catholic Church, who gave me Our Lord, who gave me his Mother! I am in love with all of it because God is so good!

Recently I found a novena entitled Mary, Under of Knots. Ahhhh.... Yet another avenue to this fountain of pure grace.

Those of you who know me may or may not know how little patience I have for the small details of life. Knotted rosaries, scapulars, techy cables, necklaces, yarns, you name it, I have no patience for any of it. My skin feels like it will boil as soon as I try to untangle the impossible jumbles. I quickly put them down for another day that never comes until about a year ago.

One day I decided that it was worth my time to sit down and work it out. It took much effort and patience. I put it down several times to give myself a break but persevered and eventually worked out every kink. I found some satisfaction from having succeeded without cutting the whole mess into shreds which was my original intention.

When I first saw this novena, just her title spoke directly to my heart. No, not because of my knotted jumble of things, but my knotted, jumbled life. How many little knots had I made that have compounded and intertwined to the point that my peace of heart is lost? So, on my knees, I pleaded with my Mother under the title Mary, Undoer of Knots.

I told her that if she would work out the mess I was in the midst of trying to deal with that I would tell everyone about this devotion. Immediately, and not after nine days, I was given the gift of great peace about the situation at hand. The situation hadn't changed, but my heart was completely changed. Peace. I devoutly completed my nine day novena and that particular situation has been untangled by divine hands.

This novena is especially beautiful because it reminds me there are so few things over which I have any control. Life itself can at times seem knotted and jumbled when seen through the eyes of a sterile world view and not through the eyes of a God who "draws straight with crooked lines".

So, I am happy to share this novena with you. I pray she gives you the peace and grace you need to surrender your knots to her care for she cares for you. Should you find her intercession helpful, then please share her with others.

I have many more knotted jumbles I continue to entrust to her care. Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for me.

A Song for Nagasaki - A Timely Read

I purchased the book, A Song for Nagasaki: The Story of Takashi Nagai, Scientist, Convert, and Survivor of the Atomic Bomb, back in December 2010. I generally read several books at a time so it isn't unusual for me to get half way through and stop for a while. I put the book down as his life was leading to the atomic bomb and then misplaced the book for a time. A few weeks ago I began thinking about it again. Then, the earthquake, tsunami and ongoing nuclear disasters put the Japanese people in the forefront of my thoughts and prayers. It almost seemed surreal that I was just reading about the history of Japan, the history of the persecuted Catholic culture and the history of radiology in that country. How could these topics be combined except through the eyes and life of Takashi Nagai.

As I picked up the book again, I wondered as to why the Japanese people would embrace nuclear energy after the terrible ordeal they suffered in WWII. I couldn't sleep that night as I finished reading the book. Paul Glynn answered this question and many others I hadn't yet considered. Takashi Nagai's personal understanding of "why Nagasak?" is profound. I hope it will cause me to pause if I should ever wonder a "why me" about any event in the future no matter how painful.

This is a powerful, true story. Paul Glynn does a great job of showing the beauty of the Japanese landscape, poetry, language, and mentality through the world wars and beyond. I love biographies and stories about real people. The better the person, the better the story and I can't recommend this book enough.

Is Anybody Home?

Hello! Is anybody home? All of cyberspace lived happily without me for the past year or so, but now I might try to begin blogging again. Real life took over for a time. Many adult demands forced me to set aside this humble little blog. I even began to forget about this space, like a distant dream, until the other day.

I was logging into Facebook (another place I rarely visit) and it asked me if I wanted to adjust my settings. Sometimes they reset my settings without my permission, but this time they were polite and asked. When I followed the link, all my past postings appeared. It was as though an old friend had come over for a cup of coffee and reminded me of many happy times we shared together.

My children also want me to continue posting. After all, this is mostly about them and they enjoy reading about themselves. Not in a vain way, but like children - always curious - always sharing - always humorous - and always wonderfully simple and kind. We are perpetual kindergarden not because they aren't growing up, but because I love this corner of the world where I learn so much from them. They may grow as they wish provided I may learn through their lives how to be more childlike.

"People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Luke 18:15-17

Wedding Plans

We are all pretty busy around here on a usual day, but even more so these days as we are preparing for our eldest Tink to be wed in May! She is engaged to a fine young man whom I will have to make a nick name for here. My other children are satisfied that they will have another brother in their midst and are no longer begging me to produce yet another offspring, (like I am capable of such a feat!) I'm sure their lives together will be most happy. In the mean time all the talk around here is about gowns, flowers, reserving spaces, meetings with priests, etc... These are exciting times!!

Great New Year's Gift

My husband accidentally gave me a great new year's gift. He tried to integrate some type of email reader with my at&t email account and accidentally wiped out 600 emails! I didn't think that was possible with one key swipe. He totally cleaned out my inbox! Thank you, Thank you, dear husband!! I'm sure there was nothing worth keeping anyway. If I knew how he did it I would explain the step by step process, but neither of us were quite sure how it came about.

Anyway, there is is nothing like a clean inbox to kick start a new year!

The Big Chop

For my last hair cut I intended to go in for the big chop, but chickened out, letting them go longer in the back. Big mistake! I really hated the hair cut. So, instead of going in to get yet another highlight/lowlight I decided to be done with it all together. My Tink took me by the hand and together we went in to the hair dressers to tell them exactly what I wanted. Now, I have no hair!

Not really, I ended up with a very short pixie. People are telling me it is cute. Kids from all around think I am their mother. :-) I don't mind it as it is very easy to do. We went to a hair dresser's wedding that evening and I felt like I fit right in the with crowd!

All the color is cut out of the back but I still have some left on the top. I intend to not have to color it again and just cut the last bit of color out as it grows. Pictures??? Soon!!! Maybe!! :-)

Out with the Old, Part II

Does growing in my natural gray hair color count as an "Out with the Old" post? I really don't consider gray hair "old". Gray is simply the absence of color. It is just hair for goodness sakes!! Anyway, I am officially 15 weeks into growing in my natural gray. It is a bit of an awkward time for me. I spend my days being very busy and not thinking much about it until I run into friends I haven't seen since summer.

I live with ten other people who have loud opinions so I've decided to be kind and not shave my head to start from scratch. Instead I am spending a heap of money having my hair highlighted and low lighted in stages to blend in the gray to avoid the "skunk" stripe look. The over all effect is what I like to call the "mutt" look. My last hair cut doesn't help matters much either but it is what it is and I must live with it until I get it cut again, or not.

I was most concerned with the reaction of the little ones. I wanted a very gradual change as something overnight would shock these tender beings. One of them asked me "What color is your hair?" To which I responded, "Many different colors". She skipped away satisfied and happy. The other hasn't looked at me as if to notice anything different. I am just "Mommy" to her and she loves me no matter what. The next older two were combing through my hair as we waited for their doctor today. "Mommy! I can see your gray!!" They were giggling and feeling all through my hair. I don't blame them as it is rather interesting to see the contrasting colors. My teenage daughters really didn't like the highlights at first glance a month ago. I explained that the alternative would be super short hair cut and they quickly changed their minds.

My oldest child, the same child who led the way in talking me into coloring my hair four years ago, is the instigator and cheerleader in talking me in to going gray. She beckoned me over the summer to begin this route. She showed me sites like "Going Gray and Looking Great" and a few others. It is encouraging to watch others go through this awkward transition stage and know it will not last forever.

I thought I would post to make my "coming out" official but I have no pics to share at the moment. I'll have to update later.