the joy of the Lord

oh, that sweet star is still beaming liquid gold through scarlet leaves and warming me from the inside out.  there are few things i enjoy more than waking up to see brightness framing the slats in blinds and filling the house with the perfect kind of light.  is it any wonder that “you are my sunshine” is one of my favorite tunes to sing to little ones?  sunshine and i belong together.  

she is my sunshine my only sunshine she makes me happy when skies are gray

i could go on, and i am sure i will, but for now, moving on...

i am still pulling pulling the waitressing gig.  and i am NOT sick of pizza yet, and don’t think i ever shall be. that is not to say that i could do without working in a pizza restaurant though.  it really is a fine job, nothing too stimulating or anything, which is fine because i sort of needed a break from my own brain constantly thinking of deep and perplexing things. but it gives me a bitter taste of the state of the secular world that leaves me in sorrow for souls who don’t even know that they are settling for fish sticks (the microwave kind), when they could be dining on the most sumptuous feast of (insert your most ideal meal here) (for me it’s cavallis pizza...just sayin’).  they do not know how beautiful their true destiny is-how completely in love their Creator is with them and how much He wants them to be with Him for eternity.  they just take what the world throws at them and stay with that.  and i thank the Lord i was born to parents who offered me Christ from the first moment of my life.  i was always free to take what the world offered instead, we are all free to do so.  but once you have a taste of the Bread of Life, how could you turn back?  not to say that i didn’t have my rebellious i-gotta-try-stupid-things times and sample those other morsels that the world offers.  they taste good at first and give you that brief flash of enjoyment, but they leave you more unsatisfied than you were to begin with.  and He is always waiting patiently for us to return, and welcomes us with more Love and rejoicing than the father of the prodigal son.  

i am in this delightful place of contentment and today i stumbled across one of my all-time favorite quotes:

We are at Jesus' disposal. If he wants you to be sick in bed, if he wants you to proclaim His work in the street, if he wants you to clean the toilets all day, that's all right, everything is all right. We must say, "I belong to you. You can do whatever you like." And this is our strength, and this is the joy of the Lord.

– Bl. Teresa of Calcutta

instead of being discontent and squirmy and unsatisfied with the imperfection of some moment or another, i can step into each moment and meet the Lord. i am far from expert at this, but He is patient.  and He is there with outstretched hand to offer some gift, though it may be shrouded in spilled coffee grounds all over the kitchen floor, or a shabby tip, or traffic that will not quit cramping your style.  there is Love in every moment, and He can transform the ordinary and frustrating into beauty.  and this is our strength, and this is the joy of the Lord.

non sequitur alert:

can you believe all the different colors there are of roses?  that just struck me the other day and blew my mind.  it’s unbelievable.  and i am currently enthralled with the light purple ones dressing the altar at St. James.  they seem somehow to be the old souls of roses, holding some deep secret in their purply petals that may never be known on this earth.  second to white, they are now my favorite color of roses.  

i wish the camera could capture the old soulness of that light purple

this one is growing right next to the cinnamon roses (pictured below)

and that is what i got this saturday.  my dear little friend (DLF for you narnians out there), who has been quite the companion for me since i moved here, is flying to europe without me.  my human friend is borrowing it and i felt i should let my camera see more of the world because i am sure it will make it a better capturer of moments with more experience in foreign places.  but i shall miss it so.  especially with the trees catching fire like they are beginning to do.  a good lesson in detachment though, and who doesn’t need that now and again?  

this tree is done catching fire it is straight up caught

and please say a prayer for me tomorrow (Sunday)-i have an interview for a job in a parish that i would really like to do God-willing.  we shall see.  

happy Saturday to you and yours.