This and That

The end-of-week linkage:

• This week’s Catholic Moments features Deborah Schaben and her pilgrimage along the  Camino de Santiago de Compostela. Deacon Tom and I combined the Deacon Moment and Mary Moment and discussed my conversion to the Catholic Faith and how Mary was close to me during my journey into the Church.  And, big news!  We are thrilled to announce our partnership with CatholicMatch.com as they begin sponsoring this podcast.  Please support CatholicMatch.com and be sure to enter our current CatholicMatch.com for your opportunity to win a three month membership to the Leading Catholic Singles Community.
• Over at CatholicMom.com, you’ll find my latest column: “The Hardest Prayer I Have to Say“

The story of grace on a Friday:

My mood matched the gray weather outside.  I found myself yelling at the dog and the kids.  Things weren’t going well, in my head or during my day.

Sometimes, when this happens, I’m fortunate enough to have a friend or family member who I can pop in on, and my extroverted tendencies will pull me out of my funk.  But on that gloomy Friday, my only hope was the grocery store.

I rounded the kids up with a promise of going to McDonald’s and eating inside.  It got them moving, but once the car was moving, I promptly forgot the eating inside part of the deal.  As I pulled into the drive-thru, my four-year-old called from the back, “Hey!  You said we could eat inside!”

It sounded like a good idea in the house, but faced with the parking lot and the image of frowning faces and hyper kids and…well, you get the idea.

But I had promised.  And she was excited.

I sighed a big sigh and found a parking spot.

There was a line inside, and it looked like we were going to get Mean Grouchy Person as our cashier.  A woman with a boy who looked about four offered to let me go first, but I declined.  “No, you were here.  Really.  We’re in no hurry.  Thanks, though.”  My kids were being good, but I could feel that my hold on the storm inside me was slight, bound to slip at any moment.

And that’s when it happened.  It was just a little thing, hardly worth mentioning.

The tall man in the immaculate suit held out his hand and said, “Your turn,” letting me go next with a graciousness that I hope to someday emulate.  Then, after the juggling act of holding the almost-two-year-old while carrying the tray and getting drinks, I found myself in front of him again.  As I put the lid on my iced tea, I said something about being in his way, and he replied, “You’re doing a great job, Mom.”

That’s all.  Just a few words of encouragement from a stranger in a nice suit at our small town McDonald’s.

Later, as I was trying to keep the toddler seated and the four-year-old eating (she had chosen a seat right beside that mom with the young boy, and had a dialogue going), an older woman, who had been eyeing us, came over and smiled at me.  “You have such beautiful children,” she said.

Sitting by that other young mom, who I ended up exchanging phone numbers with (shock!), I couldn’t help but feel the Hand of God.  It wasn’t a bolt of lightening or a sign in the sky, but it was encouragement at a point when I really needed it.

And for that, I’m grateful.