It's Time for a Drive

I'm off to see my sister today so I'll hurry this along a bit.  We have a routine on these visits that is so very precious to me.  We sit at the table in her kitchen and have a little chat first.  I have tea; she has a cup of coffee.

Then we venture out to such exotic places as Ollie's (Good Stuff Cheap) and then to Chelsea's Consignments and then Pepperidge Farm Store.  Lately, we've gone to Bob Evans for some lunch, and then return to her house for more talking, more visiting until it's time for me to leave.  Today I'll leave at around 3:30 to give me time to get off I-71 before the crazy drivers take to the road.

It's these little things in life that add meaning.  Very seldom is it a big huge splash, but rather the ordinary snippets of time spent with someone special.  The memories aren't necessarily vivid but they meld into a congomerate of moments that equal that amazing gift -- love.  The feeling of being understood and accepted and then all of that given in return.

My niece called the other day (my sister's daughter) and she works at Fairview Hospital.  She remembered that I'd made some crocheted stocking hats for Christmas and wondered if I could make some more for the cancer patients.  So today I have 11 of them to take with me on the trip.  If there was time, I would have had Father Kevin bless the hats.  It might sound corny and silly but there is such power in prayer that we really don't fully appreciate.  Women have been making prayer blankets and shawls for years, so why not prayer hats?

I do have a quote for you that is very intense and worth reading even more than once.  It was especially for Ash Wednesday but since that was only yesterday, we aren't too far behind.

The quote:

Joel 2:12-14
Yet even now, says the Lord,
Return to me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
Rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the Lord, your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love,
and relents from punishing.
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain-offering and a drink-offering
for the Lord, your God?