Thankful Thoughts....

 
What surprised me this week?

I've been missing family lately. We had a wonderful reunion with all our children and grandchildren in August at the wedding of one of our sons, but, as great as it was, it wasn't long enough or relaxing enough to get a really good visit with each one, so my heart has been a bit empty lately. I was surprised the last couple of weeks when some of our kids called and plans were scheduled for some visits in the next few months. I love these kinds of surprises!

What moved me this week?

I've watched and read a little this week about the Pope's visit to the U.S. I'm not Catholic, but I can appreciate people of faith coming together to worship and be strengthened. I loved the instances where the Pope stopped proceedings and slowed down schedules to give a blessing or comfort to a particular person. Obviously the demands of administration for Pope Francis are great, so it's especially moving to see those moments when ministering to the individual took precedence over schedules and events. Along those same lines...

What inspired me this week?

Sometimes it's pretty obvious to me when the Lord is trying to teach me something, and lately I've been schooled with "personalized instruction" on the subject of charity. I won't go into the details, but it's become clear to me that I could do better. Today in Sunday School our lesson was on... {you guessed it} charity. In the beginning of the lesson, we discussed the parable of The Good Samaritan. I'd like to think I would stop if I saw someone who was hurt or in apparent pain, but in other less obvious circumstances I fear I've seen myself turning away and not giving attention where it was needed. I want to be better and more compassionate. During the lesson we watched this inspiring video -- "What Matters Most."  I loved the statement at the end of the video... "Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved." Inspiring words to live by.