A Thin Layer of Dust

This is summer number two of bigs trucks, large holes, huge sand piles, cement pipes, and many a detour trying to avoid the road work that is going to improve driving in our neighborhood a lot!

We, personally, have more vehicles than you typically find parked at any one house in the area (or State), and on any given day, because of all the work going on, they are covered in dust.

A vehicle just back from the car wash will, within an hour or so, be covered with a thin layer of dust.

One that hasn't been washed in a week or so will have a lot more.

And one that has actually been driven in the work zone, will likely be mud splattered as well.

This is kind of what our lives looks like when we get further and further from Sanctifying Grace.

Step out of the confessional on a given Saturday afternoon and your soul is shiny clean and spotless (if you've made a good confession.)

However, being human, it doesn't take us long to slip into little sins, that coat us with a "thin layer of dust".

A week or two out, we my find that we've slipped more often than we'd like and that dust layer feels likes its getting a little thicker.

A few months (or years for some) we are not only "mud covered", we may be mired in quicksand and sinking fast.

Sin has a way of catching up with us.  We are, after all, concupiscent beings.   We won't be perfect until heaven.

Thankfully, in His great mercy, Jesus left us with a solution to the sin problem;  the Sacrament of Confession.

I tend to write about this often because I am so graced by good priests who listen well, give amazing counseling and advice and then do what Jesus gave them permission to do: "loose on earth" so that my sins will be "loosed in heaven" ( Matthew 18:18).

How thick is your layer of dust? Or, how deep is your quicksand?

Run, don't walk, to your nearest Catholic Church (go to masstimes.org to find a schedule of confession times) and get cleaned up.  You'll be so glad you did!

(If it has been a while since you frequented the Sacrament and you need a refresher, check out my earlier posts on this blog that go step-by-step through the process--and don't forget the ice cream!)

www.thatslife12.blogspot.com

I Love Answered Prayers

I just had to share an event that occurred at our daughter's wedding reception.

Sometime during the reception one of the kids (one who does not drive yet) asked for the keys so she could retrieve something from the van.

Three hours later, she remembered that she couldn't quite remember what she did with the keys after she got what she needed.  Of course, by this time it was dark and things were made a little more difficult.

We borrowed a flashlight (thanks Terry!) and went to look in the van. Sure enough, there were the keys in the back seat.  Sigh.

Our son Michael had left the reception an hour earlier and was just getting home when we called him to see if he would bring us the extra set of keys.  My heart was heavy because it was an hour drive that he had just made that he would have to make again, only this time in the dark.  So, I started to pray.

Someone, not sure who, got a hold of a park police officer.  He used all his special tools on the driver's side door to no avail.  He could not get the door open far enough to get his metal rod inside the car, to attempt to hit the unlock switch.   So, he put all his tools away and encouraged me to call AAA, which I did.

Some friends graciously agreed to wait and see what was going to happen, and volunteered to meet Michael half way and then bring the keys back to us (thanks Lil and Jim!).

While I was on hold with AAA, I got this nudge inside telling me to ask the officer to try the passenger side.  He was willing to try, but with the message loud and clear that the doors were made the same way and that likely it would not work.

So, with fireworks lighting up the night sky, I walked over and drew a sign of the cross on the passenger door and then walked away and continued to pray.  Later conversations would reveal that several others were praying to their favorite Saints (St. Anthony to name just one) as well.

I decided to call on Mamma Mary.  I kept begging her, 1) to allow the door to open far enough to get the tool inside the van (which she did!) and 2) to guide the metal rod to the door lock and click it open
(WHICH SHE DID!)

I heard the lock pop and was beside myself with joy. And, so, I give a grateful thank you to all those who prayed for us and for the answered prayers.

We got to go to the hotel as planned (with our toothbrushes and pj's with us), and get a good night's sleep.

Thank you, Mamma Mary, for your prayers, and thank you Jesus for your answer!