The Joy of the Gospel Hits the Road

Last week, I got to spend 7 days and 6 nights at our Diocesan Work Camp, a mission trip where 200 teens and adults serve the Lord in the day by building wheelchair ramps and fixing bathrooms and in the morning & evening by attending daily Mass, listening to inspirational talks, and basically making the most joyful ruckus you've ever seen or heard.  Normally, it's one of those trips that I look forward to and enjoy a lot but totally drains me - but this year was different.

When we left the camp's homebase on Sunday, I had 4 girls in the van with me.  We were cruising through C'Ville on our way to the highway when we saw a homeless man on the side of the road, holding a sign next to the left turn lane.  This is a pretty typical sight for us as people who live in Richmond, and I always say a quick prayer for the guys I see and will normally give them some change if I get the chance to pull up next to them.  However, this time I had teens in the car with me, and the second they saw him, they immediately started screaming "WHO HAS MONEY?  WE NEED TO GIVE HIM SOMETHING!  KATIE, ROLL DOWN THE WINDOW AND WAVE HIM OVER AND GIVE THIS TO HIM!"  Their enthusiasm was astounding, and as much as I agreed with them, our light changed just as I rolled down the window and we would have to make him cross a lane of moving traffic in order to give him the $5 one of the girls had in her pocket.  But as I rolled the window back up, I promised that we would turn around and get over to his side of the street so that they could help him out.

When we got back to that same corner a couple minutes later, I rolled down the middle window so that the girls could be the ones to hand the man their money.  When he came up to us, he had a tear in his eye as he put down his sign that said "Please help, God bless you."  He thanked the girls for the generosity and then knocked on my window.  When I rolled it down, he asked if he had just seen us turn a minute before, which I said yes.  He was blown away that we would come back for him, and I told him truthfully that it was all because of the girls' persistence.  He gave all of us high fives and told us that God loves us just as the light changed and "Living on a Prayer" got to the chorus (which one of the girls had pumped up the volume on, making the whole encounter more ridiculous and amazing).  As we turned, I could see him smiling at us with a smile that lit up his entire face.

I think what stands out to me most is that this is exactly what we are called to do!  Whatever those girls heard in their ears and in their hearts that week, it had come alive in them in a new way.  It wasn't a big plan, and heck, it was only five bucks, but they did it with such a fiery, passionate love!  We had an encounter with Christ that day, and it was joy-filled and fun.  To see that man smile, to get to touch him and see their joy overflow and spread to him - THAT is what the mission of the Church is all about.  That's what Pope Francis is talking about when he says to spread the Gospel with joy!  Who cares if we had to try a second time in order to be close enough, or if he was a little dirty, or if we were awkwardly wearing matching t-shirts and listening to Bon Jovi?  God wants to meet us right here, right now - the amount of time or the way we look is irrelevant, because it's all about us being present with Him and Him being present with us.  Get out on that road of life and start proclaiming the Good News with the exuberant and persistent joy that it brings to you!

And the money the girls gave to that man? We realized later on during the ride home that it was the $5 one of them had won for memorizing the Bible verse the work camp's theme of Chosen was based on and being able to recite it in front of the whole camp.  She didn't even think twice when one of the other girls was screaming about who had money to give him - she just handed it over without a second thought.  Talk about embracing that whole idea of being chosen by God and letting Him work through you to glorify His name!

"It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you."  -John 15:16 

The Miraculous Gift of a Doll

It's June - so obviously, it's time for a Christmas story!  A few years ago, Anna (my little sister) wanted one thing:  Ruthie, a doll from American Girl.  She has 3 American dolls that were all hand-me-downs from me, and she had other dolls, so she didn't need a doll - but it was the one thing she really wanted for Christmas.  Even though it was significantly more doable than what she had asked for the year before (she wrote a letter to Santa asking for world peace!), it was a big thing to ask.  American girl dolls are almost $100, and that year had been a rough year for our family, both financially and emotionally.  Though we would definitely get a couple of presents (clothes, a DVD or 2, and a stocking full of candy), no one was expecting a big ticket item as we often got in the past.  Though still in elementary school, Anna totally understood this and had her sights set much lower (she was past believing in Santa, and Santa never brought the expensive items - that was reserved for Mom & Dad!).  She would only bring up Ruthie if really prompted, and even then, she'd say "one day, it would be cool to have her, but not this year."

Now, Michael (the older of my two younger brothers) was in college and I was in grad school at the time.  Since we each had a small amount of wiggle room in our budgets, we decided to make Anna's Christmas similar to the Christmases we had always had growing up:  waking up on Jesus's birthday and seeing a tree that had tons of presents spilling out from underneath it.  We would make sure she got all the main things on her list (this was the year of Headbands!) and each got her 5 presents, much more than we would have typically gotten.  In talking to my mom, she said that she could swing it and get Ruthie for Anna, especially since we were taking some of the pressure off of her and the budget.  Over a month before Christmas, we had the plan to make sure Anna got what she was dreaming of and truly deserved (she's one of the purest, most compassionate people I know - even then when she was so little!).  The wait to tell her was excruciating!

Christmas morning came, and the Ruthie doll was wrapped and under the tree.  Since I knew which box it was in, I made sure that it was the last gift Anna opened.  When she opened it, she didn't scream and jump up and down with excitement - nope, instead of the typical reactions, she started bawling!  Her tears were ones of shock and joy.  In her wildest dreams, she hadn't thought she was going to get that doll that year.  She sat there for at least 30 minutes holding Ruthie as close as she could to her body.  Her smile the rest of the day could light up the whole sky.  The impossible had happened!  After such a crappy year of emotional downs and stressed out family members, she had something hopeful and beautiful to hold on to that was just right for her.

To me, this moment - this moment of shock, awe, wonder, beauty, and hope - was a miracle.  It wasn't the kind of miracle that would catch media attention, one where someone is dying of stage four cancer and then is inexplicably cured, and it wasn't even like the ones we think of when we look at the Bible, with the parting of the Red Sea or Daniel not being eaten by lions or the centurion's daughter being brought back to life.  Nope, this wasn't life-or-death... Or was it?  Our family had been dying in a sense, and as the youngest, Anna was getting dragged through everything without getting even the tiniest bit of say within it.  And she was taking it like a champ!  But, even when we have the best attitudes and the best intentions, we still need something tangible sometimes to hold on to, something that gives us hope and helps us not to be consumed by our trials & tribulations.  To me, a miracle is a surprise gift from God.  It's not something that's deserved, it's not something that's earned, it's not something that can be expected.  You can ask for it, but even though you trust in God, you can't assume it will happen - because miracles, as gifts from God, always work within His plan for our lives, not our own plan or timing.  A miracle is something that reminds us of Gabriel's words to Mary, that nothing will be impossible for God.  And sure, in the grand scheme of things, this was a very little surprise, one that was coordinated by my family for Anna - but that doesn't mean God wasn't using us in His plan for bringing her some of His joy.  At that moment, she experienced God in a profound way, one that brought the sun back into her heart when disappointment had been looming on the horizon.

One last thought.  When Anna opened her last present, my mom and I were paying close attention and got to experience that moment with her - I can still feel the tears rolling down my face as I watched her go from shock to joy to bewilderment to being overwhelmed.  However, my brothers and dad missed the initial moment.  I'm not blaming them by a long shot!  We were at the end of the present-opening extravaganza and the TV had gone back on and they had their own new things to be looking at - but it doesn't change the fact that they didn't witness that first moment.  I think this happens a lot of times with miracles - we miss them.  Maybe we see them, but we don't recognize them for what they are.  I promise, they're happening all the time!  It could be a call from a friend in the hour you really need an ear to talk to, or it could be when you leave 2 minutes later than you were planning and don't get in the car accident that you would have if you had left on time.  Do you thank God for the simple gift of your life and the lives around us?  His joyful hope is all around us - all we have to do is look for it!  And when you actively look but can't see it, ask a friend for help.  They just might help you find your next surprise gift from God.