School

So I'm not sure if anyone reads this blog or not, but for those of you who do, it's going to have to take a bit of a hiatus. School has really begun to pick up and, being a writing major, I simply have to write so much already that a blog is a bit much at the moment. I will be posting sporadically, but it won't be anything consistent. Unfortunately.

God Bless

Not Quite the Whole Picture.

I feel as though I need to dedicate this particular post to something that is very near and dear to my heart. On January 22, 1973 a decision was made in the Supreme court that made murder legal: Roe vs. Wade. Every year since, there has a been a march in our nations capitol to protest this decision. This gathering is called the "March for Life." Hundreds of thousands of people gather on the National Mall before marching onto Constitution Avenue toward Capitol Hill and the Supreme Court.

CNN, instead of covering the March on Monday, covered a different, smaller gathering and in their online article, that can be found here, say that "Hundreds of anti-abortion activists gathered in Washington's Lafayette Park on Sunday for a ... quick march along the White House's North Gate."

While this may be true, as CNN mentioned in the article, there were "other Roe v. Wade-related events were planned elsewhere in Washington Sunday and Monday, by both anti-abortion activists and abortion rights advocates alike." missed CNN, contrary to what you may want America to think, those "other events" closed over 10 separate streets and overwhelmed the subway stops in the area (according to the Washington Post). This group of Pro-Lifers (not the negative connotation of "anti-abortions") numbered in the hundreds of thousands and was by not means "quick."

People traveled from all over the east coast and throughout the United States. Additionally, in many other cities across the US, more people joined in the March in their capitols and major cities. Our media doesn't want the public at large to know just how large this movement has become. We are being fed a version of the truth that is skewed and inaccurate. Yes, there was a small group of people who met on Sunday, but by referring to "other events" such as the "March for Life" as an after thought, they give the impression that they are not as important, nor as big as the event already described. Make no mistake, we are not small, we are not "hundreds," we are a Pro-Life Generation and you will stop murdering us. There are empty seats in our schools because of Roe v. Wade. How many must there be before this nation realizes the atrocities it has committed?

In the Revolutionary War 25,000 souls were lost. In the War of 1812 4,505 men lost their lives. In the Mexican American War there were 4,152 casualties. In the Civil War the numbers lost were so great that they did not even have an exact number, but estimated the damage to be ~625,000 people. In the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars a combined 6,642 passed beyond death. In the first World War a staggering 116,516 never came home. When the second came, the country could hardly handle the 405,399 of their own who were lost. The Korean and Vietnam wars followed, 92,134 and 153,303 respectively. In the War on Terror, which has spanned from 1991 to now, has cost the United States 6,580 men and women.

In terms of a total number of deaths and deaths per day (lost both in combat, sickness, and injury as well as other causes of death) the American Civil War comes out on top at 625,000 lives lost. 599 men died a day on average with battles such as Gettysburg spiking these statistics with a sobering 7,000 dead in 3 days, total casualties (including dead, wounded and missing) numbered over 51,000. The total percent of the population that died was close to 2. For every hundred men, two did not return.

In total, the amount of men and women who have lost their lives to war in the United States Military from 1775-now is 1,343,812.

Now, consider the amount of abortions that have occurred from the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 until now, in 2012. The National Right to Life Committee released an analysis in 2010 that numbered the total amount of unborn children whose lives had been cut short at 52 million.

Let this sink in for a moment.... 52 million babies unborn.

If you take the 37 years between 2010 and 1973 and multiply it by 365, and divide the 52 million among them, the average death rate per day is 3,850 a day.

Consider, that the U.S. Census Bureau released that, in April of 2010, the population of the United States was 308,745,538. In terms of pure percentage, abortion has cost the United States 16.8% of its population.

Let us compare the lives lost to the Supreme Court with those lost to war. In the entire history of this country, 1.3 million lives have been lost. In the space of 37 years, over 52 million have been taken.

Even when you expand the number of losses in military endeavors to include the wounded and missing, the number swells to not even 2.5 million people.

Keep in mind, this is only the United States. This does not include that rest of the world. That number, I do not even wish to think of, my own country is shame enough. Though, as part of the world, we contribute to its shame.

According to a Abortion Statistics website, worldwide, there are an average of 46 million abortions a year. From 1973 to 2010 that's 1 billion 702 million babies who never breathed their first breath.

In the United States abortion in legal at any point during the 9 months of pregnancy for any reason.

In the United States of America, home of the brave enough to disregard life and the land of the freedom to do exactly as you please (unless it's pray and lead a moral life) murder is legal. Not simply murder, oh no, murder of the worst kind. The heart wrenching murder of those who have no voice, no defense, and are attacked in the one place that was thought to be the safest: their mother's own womb.

In our schools and on our playgrounds there are empty places where minds should have learned and mouths should have laughed. In our homes and our workplaces are women who are wracked with the emotional and psychological effects of having life wrenched from them. In our country we have a holocaust that has been occurring under our very noses for almost four decades.

We are a country blind to its own faults. In the name of "choice" we leave women without one, in the name of "health" we steal it, and in the name of "femininity" we destroy it.

It is our CHOICE to stand up against this horror against humanity. It is our CHOICE to stand up for what is right, words in a document do not change that definition. It is our CHOICE to love in the face of evil and it is our CHOICE to say that Abortion is WRONG.

The Little Things

So this week has been a bit crazy, what with the spring semester starting back up again. My mother came with me on the long drive back to my Catholic University in the Ohio Valley and then flew back the next day. The first day of classes was yesterday and I've simply been scrambling to keep up. However, I made a commitment and I intend to keep it.

In all the rush of moving back, getting textbooks, finding my way to class, and waking up at what feel like wretchedly early times in the morning I find myself noticing the little things more and more. It's interesting, because God happens to work through the little things too. For me, these are precious gems, all the more treasured for their size. It just shows me how much God cares, that He would even bother with the little things as well as the big things, especially when the big things are so stressful and seemingly impossible to achieve {see scholarships, loans, a job, peace of mind, etc}.

It is in the little things that I see God the most. I pray that He allows me to hear the Still, Small voice and sometimes He grants me that privilege or the ability to hear it for others. "Hear" isn't quite the right word though, more often than not it's an act, not a sound. I'm rambling.

There are many little things that have happened in the past few days that I certainly see God's Hands in. The drive up was much better than the weather man predicted, no one's flights were missed or delayed, my friends traveling abroad arrived safely, all of my textbooks were present and accounted for in the mail, and my passport came early. However, one of the little things that I am most grateful for are my books. They are some of my best friends and stalwart traveling companions. One of the most profound experiences of God's love for me recently did not occur in a church or at a prayer meeting, it occurred in a bookstore.

A couple of weeks ago, I had just finished reading "The Hunger Games" the previous day in about 5 hours and I wanted to get the next two installments to read. Well, that morning I was shouted awake by a woman who's at-home work station was on the fritz and who had to get to work and the couldn't find her car keys so she had to take mine and if she was late the creek would rise and God would not be willing. There is a saying in the South: "If momma aint happy, nobody happy." It was in this moment I understood even more fully the accuracy of this. So needless to say, it was not the best start to the day and it only seemed to go downhill from there. Eventually, I was able to get to the used book store where, as a poor college student, I pick up my favorite volumes. I had been there the previous day and had seen "The Hunger Games" trilogy on the shelves. It was one thing that was going to turn out today, I knew that at least I could count on the fact that those books would be there. However, as life tends to do, they weren't. They were gone.

This may not sound like a very big deal, but when you're day has gone sour and you had your hopes set on the simplest of pleasures, it is a great disappointment. The events and feelings of the day weighed heavily on my shoulders and tears pricked the back of my eyes. I sat down in one of the small, over-stuffed arm chairs in the shop and silently gave up. I told God, "I trust You. I know that everything is going to be okay. I will just order the books from the cashier and it will all be alright."

I immediately felt a quiet calm come over my beleaguered mind. I was able to collect myself and get in line for the front register. When I got to the front, I asked if I could pre-order the books and the clerk said, "Oh! We have some copies in the back, just a moment, I'll go and get him." This time, I couldn't stop the tears from leaking out my eyes as a profound sense of gratitude and joy stole over me. The cashier looked at me with concern and hurried to get the books. Again, this may seem silly, but at a second hand bookstore, it is rare for them to have more than one copy of anything, much less something as popular as "The Hunger Games." Needless to say, I got my books (at a great deal, I am very satisfied to say). I had a bloom of affection in my heart for my Father in Heaven, who was watching out for me and it was one of the best days I had ever had, just because of that. Oh I love Him, very much, but I think affection is something different; a true rush of feeling that makes one want to just run up and hug a person!

Books may seem like such an ordinary thing, something that someone would have to be rather silly to get worked up about, but God knows me. He knows that books are one of the things that I get worked up about, that mean very much to me. God cares enough that He was willing to make sure that I got those books and knew that, If I trusted Him, it would all turn out alright. In this small way, He showed me what I would be needing over the next weeks and months. With school, scholarships, loans, travel, work, family, relationships, and expense there was much that I needed to trust God on, that I still need to trust Him on. I'm still learning what it means to simply let go and trust that God will take care of everyone of my needs, but in showing me that He cares enough to handle such a little thing like books, He shows me that He will definitely take care of the big things.

Such a mysterious way to teach that lesson, don't you think?

God Bless Y'all

Our Mother's Loving Hands

One of my favorite activities is the collection of stories. I relish the sound of a family legend or local folktale. One summer I had the privilege of hearing a professional story teller spin her craft and was fascinated at her ability to weave words and evoke voices for each of her characters. My favorites though, were the stories that she swore "on her mother's grave" were true. The tales that were too fantastic to be made up.

It stirs something in you, knowing that a story is true. It reminds us that the things we hear from books or the pulpit actually happen in real life. It reminds us that miracles do happen, prayers are answered, and that no coincidence can't be proven to be providence.

Therefore, I am most pleased to present this true story (I promise!) about hard circumstances and the unforeseen answer to desperate prayers.

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Once upon a time, not so long ago a young mother gave birth to twins. This woman, named Denice, was blessed with two little bundles of joy who also happened to be afflicted with a colicky disposition and very low immune systems. When one of them got sick, the other twin followed not long after.

It was late march, not long after the twin's first birthday. It was unseasonably warm. Just hot enough for people whose immune systems were adjusted to the subzero temperatures of Green Bay, Wisconsin to become ill. The two girls were no exception. They were both laid low with a nasty flu. Their pediatrician had advised that she keep them on a strict BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apples, and toast).

There came an evening after a particularly hard day in which Don found that she didn't have anything for the girls to eat. She couldn't leave them to go to the store and she couldn't take them with her either. Very soon they both began to cry. Their diminutive wails struck knives into her heart. She was a mother, these were her babies and she had no food to feed them! She tried in vain to call someone who could run to the store for her or to come and watch the girls while she went out. No one answered. Her Husband, Don, was working the 3- 11 shift.

This entire time the twins had continued to cry, the sound increasing the urgency and desperation that their mother felt. Finally, when all seemed lost, she sank down beside the crib they were sharing and, being a pious Catholic, said with great exasperation, " Mother, they're yours now. I can't do anything anymore!" She promptly burst into tears. All three of them were crying for what seemed like a lifetime, but what was actually less than 15 minutes when Denice heard the sound of a car pulling up their driveway.

She didn't know who it could be, but she thought she recognized the car as one of the neighbor's. She quickly wipes her eyes and attempted to pull herself together as a woman got out of the car and walked up to the door. It was Mrs. Rose, a foster mother who lived directly behind them. Denice opened the door and greeted the friendly neighbor. Mrs. Rose explained why she was there and Denice began to cry again.

You see, Mrs. Rose's brother was the produce manager at Ron and Lloyd's (a local grocery store). Periodically he had to get rid of food that was spoiling or past its "sell by" date so he would either give it to his sister for free or at a tremendous discount. Mrs. Rose opened her trunk and there was the answer to Denice's desperate cry for help: overripe apples, bananas, rice cereal past its shelf life and bread about to go bad. There was no more and no less in that car.

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God answered Denice's prayer in a desperate time of need. She put her little one's in Our Lady's care and who could better understand than our own universal mother? Who could be more sympathetic to a young mother and who could be better to present her need to her Son? It may not have been what she expected, but it most certainly got the job done.

Take courage, God hears your prayers. Even if He doesn't answer them in the way that you expect or want, He is always listening. Even an unanswered prayer can be a good thing. And if you feel like God would never hear you because you've turned your back on Him and His ways, remember this: We may not have God, by God always has us.

Until next week!

God Bless Y'all

P.S. I would also like to mention that the owner of this story, one of the twins, also has her own blog entitled The Glass Box. It's a collection of imaginings, poetry, and kvetching that I find rather intriguing and not a little amusing.

New Year's Resolution

All right, so I just wanted to say that this was *not* intended as a New Year's Resolution. The fact that this post falls at the beginning of the New Year is a complete coincidence. However, knowing how God tends to work, there is a reason.

There are no such things as coincidences. Instead of Coincidental, rather I would think of it as Providential.

Speaking of how God tends to work, have you ever heard the words "God works in Mysterious Ways?" If you haven't, it's an interesting phrase. Many people believe that it is a verse in the Bible, but the phrase is never found word-for-word. Instead, it is a paraphrase of several other verses.

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things which you have not known.

Mark 4: 11-12 And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables;so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven."

1 Corinthians 2: 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification.

1 Timothy 3:16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

[All verses taken from the RSV-Catholic edition]

Only in the New Living Translation of the Bible does is say in Isaiah 45:15 "Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,you work in mysterious ways."

All other Biblical translations agree that the word 'mysterious' be replaced with 'hidden.'

So you see, there is Biblical basis for the phrase, though it may not be in the great book word-for-word. The phrase is usually used when, after a need or request is expressed to God, He answers, but not in the way that we would expect or sometimes even want. However, how He answers always works out for the better, whether we know it at the time or not.

This Blog is meant to be a collection of stories, accounts, parables, and retellings that reflect how God has come through in even the most difficult circumstances.


As a note, I've never done something this consistent before so I'm going to keep it to once a week for now. If circumstances change, then we'll see about increasing the frequency.

God Bless Y'all