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Celebrating "Name Days" within the Liturgical Calendar year is such a wonderful reason to feast. Today we celebrated!Take a good look at a very favorite painting of mine above and observe the mother and daughter wrapped so obviously in love for each other. Our young daughter shares not one, but both names of the woman shown there for double feasting abilities round the year. Indeed she has double reason to feel joyous and giggly today.
I know she felt blessed for sure today and loved being part of such a special saintly celebration.
On the other hand, when speaking on behalf of my own mother's heart, I have to admit I always seem to feel a sweet pang myself and a smile cracks every time when remembering the announcement - that of her very presence growing within my womb in fact only ten short years ago.
She was a child who was conceived during a very tumultuous and deeply difficult time in our lives, but as only God could have ordained it, she became an endearing and beautiful golden gift surely only a heavenly blessing could ever have provided at that exact and most particular time.
Instead of a select few I counted on offering a tender word or gentle hug when I could've used it the most, how tortured and taunted does one have to become in order for others to feel a triumphant sense of personal satisfaction for having aired their "opinions", especially most typically when uninvited during such a fragile time. However, that said, there were others who were drastically opposite in word and deed, and two gracious people who always saw through it all went way beyond their calling, wrapping us up in their loving hedge of protection. They just knew what to do. They just did. Thank you.... you know who you are!
Like these two folks, some of the most powerful heavenly friends are always there too; they never judge or dump salt in the wombs, they're super easy to call on and take refuge with while having to lean on them for a time when the going gets tough, and this daughter is definitely named after one of my very, very favorites.
Like a sunbeam of light in a terrifying dark valley, our baby daughter came wrapped up and presented to us in a big pink bow, bringing hope to our family and the immense joy of her arrival seemed to lift the storm from our hearts and still does today. She's the baby of the family. For some reason no more have come, so she is the one everyone keeps on loving and protecting as older siblings seem to do forever.
Blessed? Oh yes, we are incredibly blessed!
She was comfort to this woman when she was just a wee nursing babe and our storm turned nasty. The result was her having to accompany me daily to a hospital over an hour away after my husband was (finally) diagnosed with a degenerative lung disease and suddenly - life hung precariously in the balance after the ambulance took him from one hospital to the other. Holding my babe close and having her near kept me "together" in a way I can hardly imagine being able to have accomplished doing at that time. Her sweet smile always made us feel better even when our hearts were breaking and the suffering was almost unbearable at times. Oh she made us smile...yes she did.
It's no surprise then that God knew all along what this babe would do for our family. Isn't he just the best at figuring it all out way before we ever can?
Thank you St. Anne
