An act of kindness...

Yesterday I woke up wanting to stay in bed. It's been a very difficult Lenten journey for me, so difficult that I didn't even make it to church. I have been stressing about everything in my life so much that I just wanted to pull the covers over my head. How many of us have had days like this one?

However, God always finds a way to pull me out of my mess. I received a text message before noon from my dear friend Diana. We had been trying to get together for a while now but things kept coming up. That morning she decided to come visit me and really lifted my spirits. I got out of bed took a shower and before I knew it she was at my door with food, gifts, and her darling dog Lily who brought me joy to see. There is something about dogs and how they make you feel like you were truly missed.

I want to express my sincere gratitude for such an act of kindness from my friend, who may have thought that what she did was nothing but it meant the world to me. Her presence and act of kindness truly lifted me up. God had a plan that morning and He was determined to make it happen. I thank God almighty for such wonderful friends in my life who take time to serve others and to share a special part of themselves with me. I want to say "Gracias amiga" for being open to God's will and for your beautiful act of kindness.

Spiritual Sunday

It has been a challenging couple of weeks, filled with ups and downs. It seems like one minute everything is okay and the next minute things become challenging again. It is easy to think that things will never be the same, or to lose hope, or even to feel that God is not available at the moment things get hard. However, I am grateful that I have not allowed any of those moments of doubt to completely consume me. I continue to pray through it and spend quality time with God and with loved ones to help me through.

Below are a list of photos from the past couple of weeks, they all have meaning in my life and have all to do with my relationship with God and with loved ones. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words" and can immediately trigger a memory, these all come from good times.

On my way to class every Tuesday, I stop at Andy's to get my morning tea and I get a short but sweet message attached to my tea bag each time. This message reminded me of the thought I had of spending my summer in Chicago this year (still praying and contemplating on it.)

I took this photo at Sunday Mass this morning. The English readings always have a neat reflection at the beginning. This is a reflection to the Gospel of John 2:13-25 "the Cleansing of the Temple."

This is from my Lenten Reflections booklet I read every morning. Ever since I read this one, I have been truly having several unplanned moments in my life that I can truly see as graced moments. Last Thursday I ended class at noon and usually would come home but stuck around and ended up having a great conversation with friends at school. We even discussed the possibility of starting a social work blog together (praying that we can make it happen). On Friday, my boyfriend (Diego) of almost 3 years and I went for dinner. We had no idea where we were going but ended up having a wonderful Greek dinner and spending some time perusing the shelves at Barnes and Nobles. Those are just two examples of several unplanned moments turned graced moments in my life lately.

I received this beautiful journal from my darling friend Hilda. The funny thing is that she had been telling me about the gift since my actual birthday in February, but was telling me she was not done with it yet. The journal contained some really meaningful treasures that reflect her beautiful and big heart and soul. The real gift for me is just to have her friendship, but she is one of those people who truly invests in her loved ones. I am very lucky and blessed to have her in my life. I will definitely be "keeping track of all the feasts of life during this chapter in my life."

On Friday, at my internship it was one of the counselor's last day of work there. His students were so sad to see him go and he was also very emotional to leave and begin his new journey. One of his students brought his guitar and at the end of the day we were in my office singing the song "the good life" by OneRepublic. This was the message that was written on his guitar and I just had to take a photo of it. To me it truly reflects how much meaning music has during our adolescence.