The Fisherman And His Bait

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"--
                                                                                                         Corinthians 2:9

This past weekend was our parish annual retreat.  Bill and I had the privilege to serve on the team with 23 other people to prepare for this amazing weekend.  It was 6 months of planning, praying, and bonding, to ready ourselves to spread the faith to 39 retreatants who would also be attending.

The day before the retreat was to start, one of the couples on the team lost their son to the H1N1 flu virus.  His name was Christian.  He was 33.  He was married with a toddler daughter.  The sadness that we all felt was palpable.  However, the retreat had to go on.

During the weekend, our Monsignor and Spiritual Director, explained to the retreatants why the couple was not there.  There was not a dry eye in the room.  As he spoke, I was overcome with so much love for our friends.  I believe that everyone in the room, whether they knew this couple or not, began to love them as well in that moment.

Because that is what tragedy does.  It draws people in with love.

The priest who gave the homily at Christian's funeral had a beautiful, yet unusual take on why things like this might happen.  He told us that Christian loved fly fishing.  Father remembered a scene from the movie, "A River Runs Through It", where the characters are seen fly fishing.  In one particular scene, before casting his line, the fisherman slaps an insect on his arm and proceeds to use that same bait for his lure, because he knew that was exactly what the fish wanted.

And so began Father's analogy.  Jesus, the ultimate fisherman, or Fisher of Men, knows the desires of our hearts.  Perhaps he uses the loss of our loved ones as a type of bait to draw us closer to Himself.  Since we will have the desire to see that person again in Heaven, we hopefully will lead lives that help us in our journey to get there.

Of course I am not relaying this as well as Father did in his homily.  I'm sure this idea is nothing new to most people.  People with faith know that this place here on earth is not our home.  

Although my heart is broken for my dear friends, their loss
...has made my love for them stronger.  
...has made others who may not have prayed in a long time, pray.  
...has made someone who takes their loved ones for granted, appreciate them a little more today.

And although it is hard to let go, especially for my dear friends to let go of their son,  I pray that they will find peace in the union they now share with God the Father, 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.

                                John 3:16

Everyday (Non) Happenings

*Life here this week is about getting back to a normal routine with Dad in the house.  It's an awesome feeling to see him walk in the door every night.  I have been trying to revert back to going to bed at a decent hour so as to encourage Bill to do the same.  He has to get up at 4:50 a.m. and commutes 90 minutes each way.  Poor guy. 

Let's see, what else?

*I started the Paleo Diet.  If you're not familiar with this, it is a high protein, low carb diet.  Guess what!  It works.  You know why it works?  Because you're not allowed to eat anything and it basically starves you.

No dairy.  No bread. No sugar.  Everything I have come to love in life -- Gone.

I'll be honest.  I still put half-n-half and sugar in my coffee. This girl has her limits.  And when I thought I'd go blind if I didn't immediately consume a carb, I downed a bowl of Special K.

One thing that is helping me survive this cursed die-t is my increased consumption of water. However, I am a kidney stone sufferer and I have a feeling that there is at least one stone brewing in there at the moment.  Every time I drink a big glass of water I picture a cross-section of my kidney and play my own version of the Price Is Right's "Kidney Stone Plinko." Except in my version the prize isn't $10,000; it's a trip to the ER, morphine, and a scheduled lithotripsy.

*I got a text from a friend this week and it said, "Welcome to Team iPhone."  Yes, I made the jump and let go of my Blackberry, but only because Bill made me.  I'm not a fan.  The kids think it's amazing and have taught me a thing or two.  How do they know?  Crazy, I tell you. It does take good pictures, though.  This is the first one I took and it's only fitting to post it here since she's my only child who actively seeks out my blog posts.

Mary

I saw this on Fox and Friends the other day
The inventor of the cronut (part croissant, part donut) has come up with the cookie shot.

What a genius.  I have spent a bit of time figuring out the many ways I could consume this masterpiece.  And I hear his bakery is in New York City.... 

...and Bill just started working in New York City.  So when Bill calls to say he's on  his way home and do I need him to pick up anything....

Of course, that means I have to give up Paleo for Lent.