Reset, Restart and Refocus

“Remember, there is, even on this earth, a day of bright reward for all your prayers and faithful perseverance.” St. Mary MacKillop

I am so happy that January has finally come to an end. I don’t like the month of January because I have a history of bad things happening to me in January. When I was little, I recall being sick more than once on January 6th, the feast of the Three Kings. This was a very important day for children in Spain because that’s when we would get our toys. Being sick on this day was no fun. One year, I had the measles. Another year, I had to go to the emergency room because they thought I had appendicitis. It turned out to be just a stomach virus, but years later I did have to undergo surgery for appendicitis. Guess when it was? In January. I also had pneumonia one year in January and I ended up in the hospital. I have been sick with colds during the month of January more times than I care to remember. My wisdom teeth gave me trouble and had to be taken out during January. And this year, I had the hernia operation in January. So yes, January is definitely not my favorite month. Now, I can finally turn the page on January, and move on to February, the month of love.

I have also been disappointed at myself because in January, I did not keep up with my one and only resolution for this year. I have not persevered in the goals I set for myself. But no more excuses. It’s time to reset, restart, and refocus. I even got this message in a Dove chocolate yesterday: “Reset, restart and refocus as many times as you need to.” So I’m resetting my goal to persevere. I will restart and I will refocus.

When I shared at the start of this year that my resolution would be “perseverance,” Sue Jaca, one of “Our Guiding Light” pilgrims, told us about the three Ps: Prayer, Patience and Perseverance. This month of February, I will concentrate on those three words. In January, I did pray a lot because I was not feeling too good after my surgery. I could have been a lot more patient, though, but I don’t deal with pain too well, so I was feeling a bit impatient when two weeks had passed, and I was still feeling pain in my ribs. It probably would have helped if I had persevered in my walking. Everybody told me that for the pain to go away, I had to walk. But when I walked, the pain got worst, so I didn’t walk as much as I should have. Finally, on my follow-up appointment, 12 days after the surgery, the doctor told me, “You have to walk because that is the only way that those gases that have gotten trapped in your ribs will come out.” On day 13, I decided to go walk around the golf course. My husband was a bit concerned. He told me, “Are you sure you want to go to the golf course? It may be better if you just walk around the block.” But I know myself. If I walk around the block and the pain starts, I’ll go home. In the golf course, I would not be able to stop. I had to force myself to complete the walk. I had to persevere. Therefore, I went with him. I had to stop a few times to rub my ribs because they were really bothering me. When I finished the walk, I sat in the car, and the pain went away. And that was it. I have not felt the pain since that day. I call it my Miracle Walk. 

There is one area of my life, though, where I have truly been applying the three Ps. I have two grandsons, ages 3 and 1. They have not been baptized. I have been praying daily for the parents to take them to church and get them baptized. I have mentioned this to them, of course, but I have tried not to be pushy, and I have been waiting patiently for them to make the decision. I have persevered in my prayer, asking many saints, especially St. Monica, for their intercession. Yesterday, through our family chat, we received a big surprise. We got this text message in the morning: “Hi all! Would all households here be available for a possible baptism of the boys on the weekend of May 18?” My hubby and I were literally jumping for joy. Praise God that He has heard our prayers.

So, yes, definitely prayer, patience and perseverance will be my motto for this month of February, because God does answer our prayers, but we must be patient and we must persevere. If you have given up, then I suggest that you reset, restart and refocus.

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