I have been thinking about miracles lately. More specifically the miracles in my own life. Seeing God's hand at work is awe inspiring to say the least.

Sitting here thinking about the miracle of childbirth brings tears to my eyes. Not at the memory of pain, because I have none that is horrific, but at the incomprehensible love and euphoria encapsulated in the moment of birth. The instant love for someone you know nothing about and the climax of nine months of self sacrifice. I can say that it is not the same with medication as it is without. I hope that all women have the courage to travel down a natural path and experience it for themselves. I think it would make them better women and definitely better mothers.

My most recent miracle has been seeing the fruits of prayer and prayer for intercession. When Michael accepted his new job, we had to move. With the market as it was we were afraid the sale wouldn't happen. We had a window of 3 months in which to sell and buy. This was nothing short of impossible.

My mother-in-law gave me a St. Joseph statue that I buried in our yard. I said a novena to St. Joseph, daily rosaries and of course my direct conversations with God. At the end of the three months we had a buyer. The day we were to put in an offer on a house here, our agent called and said the couple had backed out.

We were quite devastated. On top of not selling our house, we were also homeless in our new town. Michael slept on a friend's couch and I took our kids to stay with his family. He finally managed to get back into temporary housing after a month and we were together again.

My mother-in-law sat down with me one day and told me a story of their last house ordeal. They had been in the same boat we were, with the exception of actually having purchased a house. They were weeks away from not having the money to pay a double mortgage. Feeling that her situation was hopeless, she began asking St. Jude for intercession for the situation they were in. She began a novena. The day before the first double mortgage was due, their house sold.

Inspired by her story, I sought out info on St. Jude (I am still a novice at Catholicism) and we began our novenas. We had gone back to our house for the weekend to get clothing and clean up a bit. Sunday morning, the day after we finished our novenas, we received a call from our realtor on our way to mass. We had a buyer wanting to pay cash! I can't describe the relief I felt. The focus of the liturgy that morning was finding God in the wilderness of our lives. I cried, but not fully. I could not let myself go through the roller coaster of emotion that comes with having things snatched away. I didn't really breath that all encompassing sigh of relief until I had the keys in my hand and walked through the door to our new house. Even then for a few days, I was in a dream state. Terrified that I would wake up and our house would be taken away. But things all fell into place. Even the delivery of our possessions on a Saturday. God's hand was in everything. I learned so much in those six months about prayer, faith and trust, as well as a big dose of patience.

Miracles are around us everyday. If we sit back, let go and notice them we can find we are blessed with them in each moment. They are all kinds of different magnitudes but each in it's own is a miracle.


http://www.stjudenovena.org/prayingthenovena.html

Pottery and Martins

I caught myself typing pottery instead of potty on a message board yesterday. I guess my subconscience is letting me know that it is feigning for some clay time. I wish I had access to that bit of quiet peace. Hearing the whir of the wheel along with the crinkle and crack of the clay as it slides between my fingers makes for a very soothing symphony. There is nothing like getting dirty. It is very satisfying.

As a teacher I did not have the time to pursue my own series of pots diligently. Hopefully in the next year I will be able to add a wheel to my studio and continue on where I left off. It is hard to pursue your own interests when you have 3 children 3, 2 and 8 months to chase after. By the time you have time for yourself all you want to do is sit and veg. Never once do I regret staying at home with them. I have tried letting them work with me, but they end up eating the clay. So we are going to wait a little longer before we dive in again.

The seeds the children and I planted in the egg cartons are starting to sprout. Gabriel is so excited. He keeps going to check to see if anything new has come up. I have come to realize that if half the seeds sprout that were planted I am going to have to give some away. Maybe I can give each child in our play group a pumpkin plant to grow a jack o' lantern from. I think that would be a fun thing. At least that is what I am planning on doing with ours. That is if the squirrels don't eat them first.

Yesterday, a flock of purple martins landed in our front yard. There were so many the ground looked black. The kids were very excited. They lifted up in unison and landed in the next yard. Then took flight. We ran from window to window in the house watching them. It is so refreshing to see the world through a child's eyes. It makes me remember that some of the best things in life are actually free.