A HUGE PRAISE REPORT 

Our Tenacious One was in an accident in my truck near campus last Friday.  When the call came from the Ottawa County Sherif's department, my reaction was subdued and hopeful.  I have prayed so hard for her to be safe and not hurt anyone with the vehicle.  

In the back of my mind, there was always a little niggle of a worry that she would have an accident.  Well, this the third one in less than a year.  No one was hurt badly in any of the accidents, but her confidence level in driving has dropped significantly. 

The truck was totaled (according the the sheriff-our insurance company has yet to investigate.) But OTO was checked out the the local hospital and was found fit, but bruised.  All Praise to Jesus Christ for hearing the prayers of this mom and dad and
so many others (including several Saints in heaven) who have been praying for her for a very long time. 

She will not have a vehicle now and that takes care of two prayer requests at once.  One-no more accidents that she is responsible for in her near future (though now I have to pray for her driving friends!) and two- that she would meet some very nice Catholic friends on campus this year. This is not totally taken care of yet, but she will have to attend Mass on campus instead of roaming the area in search of new places for Mass.  This increases the odds of Catholic friends on campus tremendously.  

While we are on the subject of praise, I'm also very grateful that she took a huge step toward getting her laundry taken care of on campus instead of a drive to a friend's house.  So grateful!

God is so good all the time.  Just look around you and find things to thank Him for.  Never miss an opportunity for gratitude. 

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!