There are so many miracles that take place at Blessing House.
There are so many times God has answered prayers by sending a friend to our door with a donation or a family to our door with a plea for help. Every time this happens, we are reminded of God’s goodness and His desire to help His children, using others to give them a message of hope.
We have captured these miracles in stories – reflections about the comings and goings
of the Blessing House family.
Through these stories, we share in the success of our families, while we also feel the pain of their struggles. We laugh with them, and we cry with them. But most importantly, we thank God for them and the many blessings they have brought us.
We ask you to please pray for the many families who need help.
God has entrusted them to our care.
Every Day Miracles
April 21, 2008
The ride back and forth to school can often lead to the most interesting conversations.
Today was no exception.
I could tell it was not going to be a quiet ride as soon as we pulled out and our 10 year old started firing questions. He wanted to know why Charley couldn’t come with us and why Sr. Mary wasn’t taking him to school and why we were leaving late (we weren’t). Once I made it through those, he started on the good ones.
“What’s a num?”
“A num?” I replied.
“Yeah, a num.”
I started to describe how it was when you couldn’t feel something, but then he interrupted.
“No, no, no. Not that. A num. A num. You know, when you can’t have any kids.”
Then the light bulb went on. “Oh, you mean a nun. Like Sr. Mary.”
“Yeah, a nun. What’s a nun? Why can’t they have kids.”
OK, now where do I go with this one at 8:00 in the morning with a 10 year old. “A nun is a woman who has dedicated her life to God,” I explained. “She makes a decision to give her life to God, and so she decides to do that instead of getting married and having children.”
OK, so far.
Then he said, “So who else is a nun at Blessing House?” I told him Sr. Dolly was a nun, too.
He thought a minute, then asked, “So Sr. Mary doesn’t have any kids?”
As I answered, “No,” I somehow wished I could explain to him that while Sr. Mary was a nun and didn’t have any biological children, she still had a multitude of children that she considered her own. I wished that I could tell him about all of the children she has rocked to sleep, held in her lap, shot baskets with, and helped with their homework. I wished I could tell him about all of the children she has comforted, hugged, encouraged and supported. I wished I could tell him about the little piece of her that left with every child who stayed at Blessing House. And I wished I could somehow let him know how the person he cared for very much really cared for him, too.
But then he just said, “Oh.”
Next question. “Do you have any kids?”
I told him yes, I had 3.
“How old are they?”
“27, 29 and 30.”
Then he asked, “Do they have dads?”
I almost stopped dead in the middle of the road.
Do they have dads?
I said, “Yes, they have a dad.” And he just said, “Oh.”
He sounded sad and was even quiet for a moment.
I asked him about his grandpa, because I knew he lived with him. I knew it wasn’t a strong relationship but thought maybe this would be a good time to have a positive discussion about grandpa. So when I asked him how Grandpa was, he just said, “I don’t know. He hasn’t called to check on me since I have been at Blessing House.” (Now over a week.) Then he was quiet.
Needing a moment to collect my thoughts, I asked him to get out his math homework and check to make sure it was finished. As he read me his problems out loud, my mind kept wandering to his simple question, “Do they have dads?” I thought about how this was something I would have never thought to ask, nor would it have been something I would have expected he would have wanted to know. But then as I went over the whole conversation in my mind, I realized how important it was for this young man to be a part of a family, to feel included and to feel loved. I thought how difficult it must be at his age not to have a mom or dad who could be there every day for him, loving him and protecting him the way every child would like. I thought of how hard it must be to see his friends and relatives who have parents enjoy the security and the traditions of being in a family, while he only had a grandma who had many burdens and responsibilities and a grandpa who he struggled to relate to.
K.’s world is very different than the one I have been used to. I am reminded again of how our Blessing House children have taught me so much and helped me appreciate the many blessings I have taken for granted.
“Do they have dads?”
On the way home from school, after I again answered the questions where is Sr. Mary and why didn’t one of the dogs come with me, it was my turn to ask a question, “How was school today?”
During the next 5 minutes, I heard 3 different versions of how he got into trouble in gym class. It changed a bit with each telling and of course it was never his fault.
I think I’ve heard this story before, just like every mom.
And probably like a lot of nuns, too.
He asked then how Sr. Mary’s inspection went, and before I could even answer, he said he hoped he could help her take the dogs for a walk.
We both sat quietly with our own thoughts for just a moment, then . . .
“So, who is working 2nd shift today? ………………………………………….”
And on we go.