Life isn’t perfect, it does not go the way would like or plan sometimes. Life can also be hard. Sometimes this is so because of decisions we have made, mistakes or misjudgments, and sometimes because of circumstances beyond our control. Life can also be a joy and a wonder. What really becomes a blessing is when we can experience that joy and wonder during our challenges, trials, and/or tribulations.

How can we do that? The repeated verse from today’s responsorial psalm gives us a clue: “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.”

Hope does not mean we have achieved our goal, overcame our challenge, or have been healed. We don’t hope for what we have or see because the outcome is still undetermined. We can feel secure in placing our hope in Jesus, even when we do not always see or experience him, he is always with us. We are not alone. We have someone who is not only willing to accompany us but has the battle scars to understand and empathize what we are going through.

The hardest thing I have experienced in my life was JoAnn’s death. I remember sitting in the doctor’s office when we got the diagnosis and saying, “Here we are again God.” I was referring to turning to God for help when I overheard my parents deciding to get a divorce and that didn’t work out so well.

The difference was that back then I did not place my hope in the Lord. I walked away from him. I now know, even when I turned my back on God, he, nor Jesus or Mary turned their back on me. This time I placed my trust in him. We hoped for a cure early on and we did not get one. But what I received was an incredible blessing: time. Uninterrupted, devoted time for JoAnn and me to spend together.

I took a leave of absence from the first week of June and until the morning of September 2, 2019, when JoAnn passed from this life to the next, we were together. And for the last month I barely slept, more blessed time together. As hard as those days were, I can honestly say there was more joy because the grace of Jesus was with us. We both placed our hope in him, and he gave us precious time together.

We are blessed when we don’t take the time we have or each other for granted.

Photo: Precious time together in LA.

Link for the Mass readings for Thursday, October 26, 2023