NVC- July2012

The July entry for the NVC Messenger:

                                                                              Storms

 

During the month of July I am always reminded of a story told to me each summer since I can remember. It is a story about a young couple, four girls and an expectant wife. They were a farming family in 1945. She was busy raising the 4 daughters, the youngest just a baby and he was a hardworking farmer.
She saw the storm clouds roll in from her kitchen window and the funnel start to lower. She rushed to get her baby girls in the shelter in time. She called out to her husband and waited to see if he was coming to the shelter. They didn’t make it in time.
 

The pregnant woman was thrown, all 4 girls were tossed around, and the husband could not be seen. By the time the neighbors arrived to help it was too late. 3 little lives were whisked away with the storm winds. The baby was tossed about but survived. The woman was injured but barely, the husband was in very serious condition and they weren’t sure he’d make it.
 

The man survived. The woman and unborn child survived. The baby girl survived, she needed braces on her legs for many years but she made it. The family rebuilt. They tried to farm again but it was too much for him. They opened a small café along a quiet highway and began a new life.
 

He walked with a cane from that day on. He held his head high and always had a smile for anyone he met. It was easy to tell that each time he leaned on the cane he was leaning on the Lord. He carried around the kind of joy in his heart that only comes from knowing how fragile life is and how quickly it can be taken away. Whenever anyone would ask him “ how are you?” he would answer, “ I woke up this morning, that’s a good start”.
 

She was a strong woman, the kind of strength that only results in overcoming insurmountable odds and having the resolve to push forward no matter what happens. She was known for making the most beautiful birthday cakes and wedding cakes for the people in the county. She would put so much love and care into her work; I often wondered if, when she made those cakes if she thought about her three little girls, and the weddings she would never see.
 

They taught me an important lesson in life. No matter what storms rage in our lives and no matter how devastated and tragic the result, with God’s help we can rebuild and move on. I will always be so grateful to God that my family had the courage to overcome the storm.
Cathy Hayes

NVC-June 2012

This is the June entry for NVC Messenger

 

 God Changes Everything

As we approach the change this month from Spring into Summer I was thinking about how everything God touches changes. The buds become blossoms, the eggs hatch into songbirds, grass grows, trees fill out and become green. What a wonderful world we live in to witness all the changes God creates. Nothing is ever the same.

But we as humans are creatures of habit. We like consistency. We worry when things change, and we feel like we have no control over the changes. The truth is that we do not control the changes, God is in ultimate control and He changes everything. This is perhaps the most fundamental difference between the human ego and the Holy Spirit. Our ego tells us that we have control over changes, our choices and free will give us power. How easily we forget that God has the power and will make the changes to fit His will. He makes the cocoon turn into butterflies and makes the tides rise and fall, He makes the sun shine and the rainbows in the sky. We need to relax and give our egos a break. Let God change our world each and every day because His changes are always beautiful, perfect and at the right moment in time.

Be Blessed my friends with all the changes this season.

Cathy A Hayes

NVC -May 2012

The church newsletter had asked that I write something for the month of May to be in the New Visions Community Messenger. This was May's entry:

It's About Time

We are all given the same number of hours in a day. We all have the same number of days in a week, weeks in a year and years in a decade.

How often do we wish for more time. More time to do things we want to do. But if we are given more time we tend to waste it. I witness so many people wasting hours staring at electronic boxes, just sitting and doing nothing with the gift of time they were given, yet still complaining that there isn't enough time.

We spend time shopping. We waste time watching tv. We use time like a commodity. We try to put more things into our time so we can waste time elsewhere. We eat while driving, text while walking, eat while watching movies, make phone calls while people stand near us waiting for our attention. We rush ourselves so that we can have more time to waste.

My thought is why don't we GIVE time away? Donate time to those who need it. Sometimes just being there near someone and giving them our attention is all it takes to show God's Love. When was the last time you gave to someone? Just sat across from someone looked them in the eye and asked how they were, and waited for the reply? As our world changes to more technology we are losing the face-to-face contact that makes being human a joy. How can it be possible to pass the Peace of Christ if we don't even pass a glance at each other?

I say "put down the remote, shut off the cell phone, turn off the computer, Put dinner on the table and look your family in the eye and smile". Count the time you give to someone as a blessing.

Be Blessed my friends.

Cathy A Hayes

Step Three: Kindness

Showing kindness to people that are strangers is a great way to boost your own spirit.
  Open the door for someone whose hands are full, let someone go in front of you in line at the store, just any simple act of kindness can make a big difference in someone's day. A small act on your part can have a big impact on your day. You don't have to be annoying about it, just pass a little peace.

Sometimes letting someone do some small act of kindness is important to them. Just say "Thank You" and smile. I am thinking of your sister wanting to bring you a drink, just say yes and thanks, let her be kind. You will teach her so much about herself.

Give compliments when they are sincere. Don't add the "I" statements. Just give the compliment.
For example:  you -" I noticed you've lost weight"
                     friend- " Thanks, I lost 40 lbs"
                    you-  " I've been trying to........... scratch that. Just give them a nod and a smile, let them know the hard work paid off and that you are happy for them.  It's so easy to try to turn the conversation back to oneself instead of letting it be about another.

Be kind to animals. Rescue the snake that got in under the door, or the bee that terrorized your sister. If some poor creature is suffering in the heat bring it water. You don't have to hang around and make it a pet just help one of Gods lesser creatures.

You will be amazed at how good you feel inside after showing a little kindness.Remember that feeling and carry it with you. Call upon that feeling during times of stress.
Be Blessed.
Cathy Hayes

Steps that were missed

I must, once again, ask you to forgive my absence from writing. Circumstances arose that I thought would not fit into our journey as I had planned. Then after some thought I realized that the distractions of life were, in fact, part of that very journey.

So I missed writing about the steps that we should be taking together. I didn't write about the end of the school year, your graduation from high school ( of which I am very proud). I didn't write about the end of the after school program or the friends that had moved away. I didn't write about the illness that plagues a family member or the family dynamics that changed. I wanted to keep this simple and list the steps in the books I was reading. It occurs to me now that all that happens in life are all part of that walk with God that we both want.

Step two:
 Foundation:
 You need to start your spiritual journey with a good belief structure. Like building a house, you must start with a strong foundation. I have a strong foundation in my Christian beliefs. I believe in One True God, a creator of earth, Heaven and all that exists. I believe in Jesus the Messiah, God incarnate walking with mankind to teach. I believe in the resurrection of Jesus, that he died and rose again to walk among his followers. I believe in the Holy Spirit, as it touches our lives and brings us closer to God.

I know that you were raised in the Catholic Church. Your father wanted you to have that foundation. My son,  we have spoken on this many times and I know you can easily find where your core beliefs exist.

Search in your soul for the answers to where you want to start building . Find your foundation.
Be Blessed my son.
Cathy Hayes