Month: September 2021

Nehemiah 8:10                         July 1995 

     As I’ve become more aware of the Lord’s hand in every detail of our lives, each day brings promises of surprises that are often new lessons to be learned. With this in mind, I had been eagerly watching the mailbox for the license plates to arrive for our new van – I knew the letters and numbers the Lord would put there would not be random, but rather a secret message from the Lord for us to unravel! The day arrived and as the plates were removed from their envelope, the combination PBX300 was revealed – now to decipher the code. 

     The first part, PBX, jumped out at me instantly – X Christ, from the Greek letter X, or Chi – Christos – the Anointed One. PB offered two possibilities – Praise Be to Christ was the first one that offered itself, especially as we’ve become so aware of the priority of Praise as a foundation of our faith. The second option of course is Peanut Butter, and this was an even more personal message – the mainstay of our lunch for years has been PBJs, so peanut butter and Christ is even more logical – to keep Christ in the very center of our lives, right in the common and ordinariness of lunch. This was a message I often needed to remember, that to find our Lord we need go no farther than the kitchen, and among the most mundane elements of our living – the sacred in the homeliness of our everyday existence. Sometimes I forget and want to run out to find the Lord in all those mountain top experiences, when in reality He remains so very much present right in the humdrum of our lives. 

     Considering the idea of peanut butter and Christ presents a very important lesson too – Humor! I can’t look at the plate without smiling, thinking how silly it would appear to many to hear this “code de- ciphering” – and to me too – it brings a smile to my lips whenever I think of it, and a lightness to my heart, and another reminder to take myself less seriously, yet to seriously keep the Lord at the center of our lives! 

The number 300 offered extra options too – the first focusing on the number 3, for the Trinity! and the 00 are the eyes of the Holy Spirit – for the last two years a prayer to the Holy Spirit has held a special place in my daily devotions, as I’ve sought to enter into an ever deeper surrender to the Lord – what a neat thought that His eyes are on us all the time, and watching before us and behind us to keep us safe from harm, and give us direction! This puts another smile in my heart too – to imagine the two eyes in the license plate – I like to think the Lord’s eyes would have a twinkle in them at the thought also!

     The second option for the 300 came from a journal entry from Catherine Marshall’s book, A CLOSER WALK, which I had only discovered a few days after the plates had arrived. She was writing about the story of Gideon, how he felt himself so incapable of accomplishing the task the Lord had set before him – and indeed by his own power he was incapable – but the Lord assured him that He, the Lord, would provide all that was needed. Gideon needed only to trust, and obey. When Gideon had assembled the forces to do battle as the Lord had commanded, God told him he had too many men – he had 22,000 – they might think they accomplished the victory in their own power instead of by the power of the Lord, so God told him to keep only 300 men – 300! – to prove that it was indeed the Lord’s power that had wrought the victory, and not Gideon’s! What a reminder of humility – to always remember that any victory, or good, achieved through me comes from the power of the Lord within me, and never of myself alone. And that power for good is available to a surrendered life to achieve that which the Lord desires, for His Glory! Who would have thought how much the Lord could show me through those “random” license plate letters and numbers ? Each time I jump in the van, and it is indeed often, I am reminded of the very real Presence of Christ right with me, wherever I go, the desire to praise Him in all things, the Holy Spirit teaching and guiding me, and to constantly seek to trust and obey the Lord in all that I do, knowing that it is His power and HIs alone that accomplishes good. And all of this is wrapped in the wonderful lightness of humor, to help me keep the proper perspective on my life and endeavors, knowing that the Joy of the Lord is my strength! (Neh 8:10) I wonder what surprise the Lord has in store for us tomorrow? 

Blessed Mother, Help me!                                                 June 9, 2021

     At coffee after Mass  today I was blessed to hear two stories of God’s Providence in the life of my friend, Mary.  Her refrain in times of trial has been “Blessed Mother, help me!” And indeed help arrived in most unexpected ways!

     Story one goes back to the days of driving the kids to their hockey games.  It was a cold blustery winter night in Minnesota, and Mary arrived in the parking lot with the kids and all their gear to attend a game.  Hurrying to unload all the gear and get in out of the cold, she locked the car and they headed inside.  After the game, on returning to the now almost empty parking lot, she looked in her purse for the car keys and couldn’t find them, only to discover that she had left the car locked and running with the keys still inside!  What to do?!!!  

    Her first response was “Blessed Mother, help me!”  This was before cell phones, so no easy way to call for earthly help 🙂 Just at this moment, a car almost identical to her own pulled up to park alongside of her, although there were many other empty spots in the lot.  As the driver was getting out, her friend suggested she ask the driver if he might try his key in her own car to see if it would work.  And behold!  It did!  He opened her door with his key, they all piled in and gratefully found their way home that night ~ what are the odds of a car pulling up just at that moment, with a key that was able to unlock her own car?  Thank you, Blessed Mother, for hearing and answering, and so quickly!

     Story two took place at their cabin on Borden Lake.  Mary’s niece had dropped them off on her way farther North, so they had no car of their own with them.  The radio was issuing tornado warnings, and Mary was aware of the wind getting stronger until it sounded like a freight train, and the sky had turned a scary green.  Where to go?  There was no basement at the cabin, and Mary was thinking of crawling under the mattress, when again she lifted her heart and called out “Blessed Mother, help me!”  She looked out the window, and saw what looked like a water spout traveling across in front of the cabin, followed by a second, and then a third one, after which the sun came out and the storm passed.  

     As they were breathing a sigh of relief, a neighbor appeared and was relieved to find that they were all ok.  He lived across on the other side of the lake, and had watched as three tornado spouts had traveled directly toward my friend’s cabin.  There was an island between his cabin and theirs, so he had been unable to actually see their cabin, and he was afraid of what he might find.  What a relief to find them all safe and sound!

     Checking the damage afterwards, it was discovered that the island itself had been heavily damaged by the tornadoes, and the nearby town of Garrison was almost leveled.  Yet Mary had been able to look outside the cabin window and see all three spouts pass by right in front of her without any harm being done!  Thank you again, Blessed Mother!

     Remember O Most Gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it said, that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession, was left unaided…. May my friend Mary’s stories be an inspiration and encouragement for all of us to call on the Blessed Mother for help, with confidence in the mighty power of her intercession for her children who trust in her love and care!