Listening...

Last week, I was eating lunch with the kids and we were discussing the fact that I only have three more years of homeschooling left. Beth asked me what I planned on doing when I was finished and I said I didn't know; I would leave it in God's hands when the time came. She suggested I get a job. I told her that I doubted that I would do that; I would most likely do some type of volunteer work depending on my situation at the time. She then suggested that she thought I would make a good counselor. She said I'm always such a good listener and have good advice. What a compliment from my darlin' daughter!! She said that people are always telling me things....

On this past Friday night, Mark and I went to the Annual Archbishop's Dinner. When Will went into our major seminary here several years ago, we thought it would be nice to make a sizable donation every year. It helped me feel as if we were contributing to his education. The amount was large enough that we became members of the Bishop Fenwick Society and this dinner is for its members. We've kept up our yearly donation even though Will isn't in seminary any more... we like the thought of helping educate the young men of our archdiocese who are studying for the priesthood.
So we went to this dinner for the first time this year even though we really don't know anyone there very well. We were seated at a table with three other couples all around our age or a few years younger. The woman next to me was very friendly and we started talking immediately. Over the course of the next two hours she told me various stories about her life that were very personal and I was amazed that she felt so comfortable doing it. I found myself thinking about what Beth had said and wondered if maybe that would be a possibility some day. I was also reminded of a conversation I had with a dear friend who always says I'm easy to talk to. This person has confided in me about things that they said they have never told anyone else.
So this has me thinking a bit and perhaps we'll see what happens when those days of homeschooling are over. I'm open to wherever He leads me....

My heart has been so heavy still and I must admit that this morning I was feeling a bit cranky. But things have improved as the day has gone on. We're having a very large graduation party for Beth next Sunday and I have all of the work involved with that on my mind and I must admit I will be relieved when the preparations are over.
I know part of my depression is grieving about a relationship that is dear to my heart where I feel the person is upset with me, though they won't admit it, because of something I told them several months ago that I felt the dear Lord putting on my heart to tell them and they really didn't like hearing it. I'm missing how close we were this past year up to that time, and my heart is grieving. I keep trying to offer up the pain for this person because I do love them with a mother's heart, but I sometimes wish that God would just take away the love so that the pain would go away too. But a mother's heart isn't like that, I know...

I hope that all of you have had a blessed Memorial Day.....may you be ever mindful of His endless love....