Look What the Lord Has Done!

My best laid plans were to be in Tulsa this weekend for a very special event, my godson’s little sister’s First Communion and then yesterday, to attend my godson’s swim meet. God wasn’t surprised by me having to cancel because of the flu that literally slowed me down to a snail’s pace for the last 7 days, but I was surprised. I wasn't there, but I still celebrateed with my sweet Claire, Owen and their family from afar.

First Communion is a really big deal for Catholic families. I always had such admiration for those sweet 2nd graders who would attend many months of First Communion classes which would culminate in the Spring, their First Communion – wearing their white dresses and boys in their suits and ties. It is such a holy, joyful occasion. Relatives are invited and parents take lots of pictures. All eyes are focused on them for this very sacred and special time.

Receiving communion is the most beautiful, personal, and intimate times with our Lord for any of us, but it is especially precious and powerful for the boy or girl preparing and coming to know how profoundly united they become with Jesus in a way that they had never known before. So this weekend, precious Claire, who had reminded me over and over “In two years I'll have my First Communion”….then "Next year I’ll have my First Communion!” She was so excited, and you can see in these photos, that little girl’s prayers and dreams came true.

Now onto what wouldn’t seem near the spiritual occasion that Claire had. Owen had his swim meet last night. He placed “first” in all the events he raced. No big deal, right? Wrong! It is a really big, God-is-so-good-all-the-time DEAL! Here’s why it was a powerful physical AND spiritual event. If you’ve followed me and my relationship with this wonderful family, you would remember that this precious, now 12-year old boy, was born with many physical complications. That’s when my husband and I were guided by the Holy Spirit to partner with them for Owen’s healing. Not only was he born with a collapsed lung and was on a ventilator for the first 4 weeks of his life, even after leaving the hospital, many, many times, he’d be back in the hospital because of pneumonia over and over again. We called him "Champ" from the get-go, because each time, he’d overcome and defy the odds. Owen’s Mom told me they had no idea he could swim so well, but of course, Owen-the-Champ defies the odds by his attitude, his trust in God and his "never quit" attitude. I have such a special love for this family because this little child brought us together and Owen, my little man who took over the seat beside me in church, where my sweet husband left . When Owen heard I couldn’t make it this weekend, he said “I wish there was something I could do to help Miss Donna. Oh, I can do something. I can pray.” And his Mom told me, he stopped right in his tracks and began to pray for me. How's that for reciprocating prayer? We prayed for him. He prays for me.

Have you thought about the odds you and your family may have defied? It’s often easy to take answered prayers way too lightly. When we take the blessings in and around our lives and continually to count them one-by-one, we’ll start living on the “Look what God has done!” side and amazement, awe, wonder and gratitude will be a part of the very fiber of our being. Thanks be to God for His love and His wonder-working power! Great is His faithfulness!

“The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” Psalm 118:23