A parishioner came up to me after the morning Mass and shared with me that JoAnn told her yesterday to tell me: “I am proud of you and I love you.” She was not able to get to me yesterday, and shared the message with me after Mass this morning. Which is more appropriate as today JoAnn and I would have celebrated our 30th anniversary. Two random events? Coincidence? No. To me God-incidence!

Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” I choose the “everything is a miracle” approach, as well as the St. Thérèse of Lisieux principle, “All is grace.” All is indeed grace filled when we turn to Jesus with our sorrow, anxiety, insecurities, and uncertainties. God truly will bring about a greater good, may not appear to be so in the moment, but over time, yes.

I still miss JoAnn and not sharing our daily lives together, but in this last year I had felt her closer since she died. I am blessed by the twenty-three years we shared together and a better priest because of the ups and downs, challenges and celebrations, and above all the love we shared. Our relationship helped us both to begin the path of healing and moving beyond the safety of the disfunction we knew, to trust in the freedom with God we didn’t know but were growing into.

Healing continues, we are all a work in progress. As we learn to breathe, be still, receive and abide in God’s love, we heal a little more, are transformed a little more, we become a little more human, and remember who we are as God’s beloved daughter or son. Happy Anniversary to my heart and my love.

---

Picture on my desk and on my phone. Blessed to see JoAnn’s smile everyday which seems to be getting bigger and more radiant.