Let's Make a Difference

"Have you seen how that imposing building was constructed? One brick after another. Thousands. But, one by one. And bags and bags of cement, one by one. And stone upon stone, each of them insignificant compared with the massive whole. And beams of steel, and men working, hour after hour, day after day …" The Way by St. Josemaria Escriva Ch 39 Par 823

A week ago my friend Luly posted on Facebook the phrase "God is real" and I hit the famous "like" bottom. When I did that she challenged me to post a phrase about God in my Facebook page during the next seven days. I must confess that when I received the challenge my first thought was: "Oh no, now people are really going to think that I'm a fanatic. I write spiritual meditations, I go to Bible class, I go to mass on Sundays and occasionally on weekdays, I pray the rosary when I walk and when I drive long distances... All these things will categorize me as a fanatic in some people's minds so if they don't think so already, once they see me posting about God daily, they will definitely label me. But as soon as that thought entered my mind, it was rebuked by a new one: "So what? Who cares what people think of me?"

People are going to label us no matter what. Some people are fanatics about politics, sports, a certain actor, actress or singer... So I'm fanatic about God. And therefore, I have this need within me to share Him with others. I don't push Him down anyone's throats. Everyone has a choice to read my meditations or ignore them, to like my posts or skip them, to listen to me or walk away... It's the same choice I have when someone talks to me about politics. But that's the beauty of this free country we call home. We all have the option to speak our mind freely. And to my surprise during the seven days of my challenge, I didn't get a single negative comment and more than 40 Facebook followers liked my postings. I am sure not everyone accepted the challenge and I respect their decision because at the end of the day, we all have a choice, but I know that during this past week my news feed was filled with postings about God.

All that God asks of us is that we stand up for what we believe and that we make a difference. There are groups of persons that are so passionate about what they believe in that they are willing to give their life for their cause. They march, they protest and little by little they are changing the direction of our country because they are relentless in their mission. As Christians, we tend to be bland. Little by little we are losing all our rights. Prayer and the Bible have been removed from schools, the phrase "Merry Christmas" is criticized, there are movements trying to remove God from all the documents that have defined our nation for over 200 years, from the Declaration of Independence to the Pledge of Allegiance... And we read and hear about all of this and we don't do anything except forward emails to each other from the comfort of our homes.

We should also make a difference by lending a helping hand to the good causes that we believe in, whatever that is. I have a friend that this weekend is attending a convention in Orlando to help those with rheumatoid arthritis, I have another one that rescues mistreated and abandoned animals, I have another one that created a bereavement group at a children's hospital. My young cousin Carolina is running the New York marathon and raising money for kids in the process... And so many more that it would take me five meditations to mention them all. We all have a cause that is near and dear to our hearts for whatever reason, whether it is an illness that a loved one suffers or simply because we love animals and can't stand to see them suffer. So I challenge each and everyone of us to do something about it. We all have hidden talents, it's time to discover them.

On Monday I was given a new challenge. I was asked to chair a fundraising event for the Key Clubhouse, an organization that helps persons with serious mental illness. It took me a week to decide to accept the challenge because I felt unworthy to handle such a big project. If I thought posting about God seven days in a row was a huge challenge, this was a monster in comparison. Even after I accepted, my first thought was: "what have I gotten myself into?" But mental illness is close and dear to my heart and I know that something needs to be done in this country to change people's minds about the stigma and to find better resources for those that suffer from it. So I accept the challenge to make a difference, maybe not for the country but for my community because we have to start small. All big projects started small. Large organizations like the Susan G Komen Foundation and United Way began small simply because one person or a small group of persons decided to make a difference. May God and my friends help me as I move forward with this new challenge.

Let's make a difference.

The Big Rocks in our Life

"One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students. To drive home a point, he used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high powered overachievers he said, "Okay, it is time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." The management expert asked, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?" No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. At this point he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"


"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."


What are the 'big rocks' in your life? Your children; Your loved ones; Your education; Your dreams; A worthy cause; Teaching or mentoring others; Doing things that you love; Time for yourself; Your health; Your significant other. Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. If you sweat the little stuff (the gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).


So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first. Don't forget God!"

                                                                                                                                    Author Unknown

As I get older, I feel like the days, months and years are just flying by. I remember as a little girl how long the time seemed to take from my birthday in July to Christmas. Now, the time just zooms from one holiday to the next. We are more than half way into 2015. Soon, we will be getting ready for Christmas.

Just as the days are flying by, there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish all the tasks that need to be completed. Today was one of those rare days that I had the house all to myself. What did I do? The first thing I did this morning was to write myself a "to do" list. Seriously? I have a day all to myself and I assign myself a dozen boring tasks: go to Home Depot, clean out the kitchen, finish the paper work, bake a banana bread (well, at least this last one wasn't boring). But the point of the matter is that on this day off, I should have gone to lunch with a friend, or I should have booked a massage, or I should have read a good book, or...  But if I had done any of those things, I would have felt guilty because the boring things needed to be done sooner or later.

All that boring little stuff (the gravel, the sand) tends to fill our days so much that we forget the important things. We forget the BIG ROCKS. And even though, sometimes we don't have a choice but to take care of the gravel, the sand and the water, if we fill our days with them, we will not leave room for the rocks. And at the end of the day, it's the rocks that bring meaning to our life.

And therefore, after spending the day running around crossing items off my "to do" list, I finally made time to do the one thing that brings joy to my heart and yet, it was not written on my pad. I am praying, meditating and sharing my journal with all of you.

Have a blessed rest of the weekend and I hope it's full of rocks.

We are all called to be Eagles

"Don’t fly like a barnyard hen when you can soar like an eagle." The Way by St. Josemaria Escriva Ch 1 Par 7

One day a farmer found an eagle’s egg and thinking it one of his chicken’s eggs, placed it in a nest in his chicken coop. The egg hatched and the baby eagle grew up thinking that he was a chicken. The eagle did what the chickens did. It scratched the dirt for seeds and worms and it did not fly more than a few feet because this is what chickens did.

One day he saw an eagle flying gracefully and majestically in the open sky. He asked a chicken friend “What is that beautiful bird?” The chicken said “That is an eagle. He is an outstanding bird, but you can’t fly like him because you are just a chicken.” So the eagle never gave a second thought to it and lived and died as a chicken, depriving himself of his heritage.

As a mother I wanted to keep my children in the chicken coop forever. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was to drop them off in the university. I knew that from that moment on, life would never be the same. They were no longer mine. Now they belonged to the world. The older two have already graduated and they no longer live within the safe boundaries of the chicken coop. The youngest is still in college, all the way in Connecticut, and every time he returns to the chicken coop for a few days or weeks, I dread having to release him out into the big, dangerous world.

But none of us are meant to be chickens. We are all called to be eagles. Just like my parents allowed me to fly off their chicken coop when I married my husband 31 years ago, I must also allow my children to fly off the nest and reach their full potential. I learned a long time ago that my children don't belong to me. They belong to God. He allowed me to borrow them for a little while but He never intended for them to be chickens, confined to the limitations of a chicken coop. He wants them and all of us to reach our full potential, to soar as high as we can fly and for that we must become the eagles that God created us to be.

It is terrifying because the world is a scary place and I always feel that my sons and daughter are not ready for it. But there comes a time when we all must face the world on our own. We must choose right from wrong. And we must be held accountable for our choices. The only way we learn to fly is by jumping off the nest on our own. And if we crash, we need to keep trying until we get it right. But for this we need room to grow and room to fly. If we remain forever within the confines of the chicken coop, yes we will be safe but we will never reach our full potential. We will never achieve the goals and dreams that God has planned for us.

So as difficult as it was for the selfish mother within me, the day came when I had to push my kids from the safety enclosure of the chicken coop out into the big unknown world. I had to push them off the nest and encourage them that they could soar as high as their dreams could take them. And even though deep within me I still sometimes fear that they may crash or that they may make the wrong choice, I have given them the gift of the push. They are free to soar and they are free to make their own choices. And in the meantime I pray, that even if once in a while they make mistakes, that they learn from them just like I learned from my own. After all, "nadie aprende por cabeza ajena." (You can't learn from another's mistakes).

Don't hold back the push for those you love. Everyone needs to be encouraged to soar like an eagle. Trust God that He will lead them as they fly to their full potential. And He will carry them in the palm of His hand.

My Recipe to a Happy Meal

"If things go well, let’s rejoice, blessing God, who makes them prosper. And if they go wrong? Let’s rejoice, blessing God, who allows us to share the sweetness of his cross." The Way by St. Josemaria Escriva ch 31 par 658.

I feel that in general I am a truly happy person. It takes a lot to bring me down. I am human so obviously, I get upset. You can ask my husband just how upset I get when I'm hungry. And I also feel pain and I cry when the storms of life threaten to break me down, but most of the time, I am content with life. I have been meditating about this and I have come up with my own personal recipe to happiness. Of course, this is a work in progress. Through the years I have added new ingredients and I have tried new techniques. I know the dish won't be perfect until I finish my journey here on earth, but for now, it tastes pretty good. Here are the twenty main ingredients that in my case are indispensable to my happy meal:

1-Every new day should be the happiest day of your life.

2-The past is gone, the future is not here yet so the time to be happy is now.

3-Enjoy every season of your life. Just like there is beauty in the spring flowers, in the warmth of the summer, in the trees as they drop their leaves and in the whiteness of the snow, there is joy and happiness in every stage of your life. Don't try to stop the clock from ticking, rejoice for every new year that God gives you.

4-Have an attitude of happiness. Happiness doesn't depend on what happens around you, happiness depends on your attitude towards what happens around you. Like Martha Washington said: "The greatest part of our happiness depends on our dispositions, not our circumstances."

5-When you are happy, don't keep it inside. Share your joy and happiness with others. Just like one candle can light many other candles, happiness is contagious and increases when you share it.

6-Dance and sing every time you have the opportunity. Who cares if you are not a good singer or a good dancer? Life is too short. Go out there and enjoy it.

7-Don't try to be perfect. Do the best you can and leave the rest to God.

8-Dream big but be happy with whatever you accomplish, even if it seems insignificant. A huge building is constructed one brick at a time.

9-Don't search for happiness in faraway places when happiness lies at your feet.

10-Always have faith because without it your life will be too difficult. If you are not sure whether there is a God, look around you. You just need to look at His magnificent creation and you will believe.

11-Don't search for happiness in possessions. The things that bring true happiness are free: the smile of a baby, the splendor of the rainbow, the warmth of the sun, the beauty of the ocean, the fragrance of a flower, the hug of a loved one... Rejoice in the gift of God's creation.

12-Be on the lookout for a miracle. God gives you miracles every day. If you don't notice them you need to look a little harder.

13-Smile even when you feel like crying. But once in a while, it's good to cry. It cleanses the soul.

14-Trust that no matter how dark today looks, there will be a brighter tomorrow.

15-Never lose hope even when it looks like the situation is hopeless.

16-When you are in the midst of the storm, pray and ask others to pray with you and for you. We are not on this journey alone. Find a community that cares and allow them to help you carry the burden. And when you are in the peaceful valley, remember to say a prayer of thanksgiving.

17-When you are traveling through the peaceful valleys of your life, cherish them. Yes, the storm will come again but if you are always living in fear of the storm, you will miss out on the beauty of the sunshine that is lighting your days at the present moment.

18-Be kind to all the persons that you encounter on your journey.

19-Love. Love. Love. Love with all your heart. Love your family, love your friends, love your neighbors, love yourself but most importantly, love God.

20-Put God first and love will always reside in your heart, peace will always be in your mind, joy will always surround your soul and happiness will always shine in your life. When God is at the core of your existence, there is no room for sadness.

I hope you find your own ingredients to create your own happy meal but feel free to borrow any from my list if you feel they could enhance your flavor.

Finding God in the Joy within your Heart

"Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

It has taken me a few days to write this meditation about happiness. I started on Monday night but then the following morning I learned that our cousins Roly and Tere had been in a horrible car accident and Tere had sustained life threatening injuries. It's hard to write about happiness when there is so much tribulation and sorrow around us. But I truly believe that even amidst the pain, God wants us to be happy and He wants us to find that place within us where true happiness resides. So I kept on writing only to lose what I had written because I forgot to save it. Finally, I finished it as I learned the happy news that Tere had been extubated and was breathing on her own. As you read this, please say a prayer for her total and complete healing.

This week I celebrated my 31st wedding anniversary. I remember my wedding day as if it was yesterday. I was 21 years old, full of hopes and dreams. I would be lying if I said that the last 31 years have been a piece of cake. There have been a lot of hills and valleys. But when we walked out of St. Dominic Catholic Church on June 29th, 1984, there was a third person that walked out with us. And He has been walking with us every step of this journey thus making it a lot easier.

As we were having our anniversary dinner, I asked my husband: "If you could change something from the past 31 years, what would it be?" "You," he answered. Of course, I set myself up for that one. But then he got serious and he told me: "I wouldn't change anything. What more can I ask out of life? After 31 years, I'm still in love with you, we have three good children that are doing well on their own, we are not millionaires but we are comfortable, I had my parents with me until I was 53... Life has been good to us. I am happy. I am content."

I think that is the key to happiness... To find that place in your life when you can look back and realize that life has been good, that you are content with the cards that life has dealt you. All of us are in the pursuit of happiness. If you who are reading this don't agree with me then I think that you jumped into the wrong boat. We are all meant to find happiness. God created us to be happy. He doesn't like it when we are suffering. When we are happy, He rejoices. The problem is that sometimes we are searching for happiness in all the wrong places.

We sometimes think that happiness comes from the things that we own. And we couldn't be more wrong. Acquiring things does not bring us happiness. We may think it does because of the jolt we may get when we buy a new car or a new dress or a new piece of jewelry. But this joy is only temporary. It doesn't last very long. Have you seen a child with a new toy? How long does the excitement last? When my kids were little I used to think that there should be a Blockbuster for toys. In addition to renting out videos they should also rent out toys. My kids would get bored from their toys so fast that I would put away toys they got for Christmas and space them out through the year. Unfortunately, many adults have not outgrown this childhood tendency. They spend their life acquiring things that are only going to bring a false sense of pleasure.

We also try to find happiness through experiences. We think that the more we do and the more we accomplish is what is going to make us happy. We keep bucket lists of things that we want to accomplish in our lifetime or of places that we want to visit. And even though going on vacation, traveling or accomplishing things written down on our bucket list may bring us joy, the truth is that the joy is only temporary. Once we return from vacation, all we have left are the memories and the pictures. And once we accomplish our goal, we need to concentrate on something new to find that sense of pleasure that we felt while we were trying to reach the goal. Sometimes we feel the happiest during the journey and once we reach the destination we realize that the happiness is gone. So we need to embark on a new journey because we are trying to find happiness outside when all along we are carrying it within.

Another way we try to find happiness is through the people around us, especially through our family and friends. Even though being with family is always a joyous occasion, it is not always peaceful. As my grandmother would say, "en la confianza esta el peligro" (in the trust there is danger). In a new relationship, there is always peace and happiness at the beginning. Eventually, as the two persons get to know each other better, they will inevitably have a disagreement which will lead to a discussion which will lead to a fight. I am certainly not happy when I'm upset at someone. And many times we carry grudges that could last a lifetime, thus making our journey very heavy and causing a dent in finding true happiness. We cannot make others responsible for our happiness because if we do we are just going to be miserable.

When my mother-in-law passed away just two months after my father-in-law, my husband told me: "I feel as if I have been left with a huge hole in my heart." I mentioned this to Father Willie and he told me that the hole could only be filled with God. And I truly believe this. We all have a hole within our hearts that we try to fill with possessions, experiences or people, but this hole can only be filled with God. It is in Him where true happiness resides and until we realize this, we are going to continue searching for happiness in all the wrong places.