I've neglected my blog for a while...obviously. I regret that. I often have things I'd like to say, but for whatever reason, go unsaid. Some around me have had losses and joys, awakenings and backsliding. Maybe I'm a bit of all those things right along with my friends. I know of many prayers requested, and I'm true to their needs, but often no one knows. I'm not good about saying I'm praying for you, but nevertheless, I am praying for you.

I have many Emmaus sisters, and I'm so grateful for their presence. But I haven't been to our weekly meetings in several weeks. I lift them up and I'm aware they lift me up. But, I will confess that I haven't found the fortitude to overcome my need to withdraw from the world for a while. This, too, shall pass.

My dad was fond of saying that. I miss him everyday of my life. We lost him to leukemia a few years ago and I thought he would live forever. I still can't believe it. I still think to myself, "I have to ask Daddy about that." Oh, that I could. He believed in me like no other person on earth.

My life is tremendously blessed, but I've experienced a number of traumas. However, gladly not every day, but often enough, I learn of people, families, friends, acquaintances, even strangers, who would happily trade my traumas for their nightmares. And I'm humbled. Because they're on point. I have not deserved the blessings I've been given and I thank God for my life. I've always had a very good Guardian Angel.

I'm an American. I'm employed with a retirement. I have a beautiful home and family, warts and all. I have good health and money enough to spend $4.00 for every item in my grocery cart and every gallon of gasoline in my car. At least for the foreseeable future. I'm free to go to Mass on Sunday and vote on every Tuesday I'm offered the chance. I can hope for nothing more for my children and grandchildren.

Missing Your Calling

I think I've always known on some level I missed my calling to teach. I find the most pleasure when I truly have knowledge of some subject (longevity helps that!) that makes it possible to mentor someone new to my space. I don't mean this in any way to be self-promoting, so I apologize right away if there's any impression of that. I'm not one to invade personal space with self-appointed authority. I simply find teaching to be the most uplifting part of my day...if I'm able to do so.

It happened three times this week and it pulled me right out of the doldrums. Twice I had the opportunity in my workplace and once with someone who'd like to learn to make rosaries. I get so excited I have to make myself slow down to keep from all-talk and no-listen! It is heartening to know things, often gained from painful mistakes, which other people need to know to carry on excellently. I relish the hope of preventing missteps and slugging it out the hard way. I think that's why history is so fascinating to me. I'm capable of learning from it. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Conversely, I positively cannot relate to those who are stingy with knowledge, and indeed, it makes me angry. No, I don't make a good doormat either in case you're wondering about the occasional egocentric.

                                                                                                   

Don't miss your own calling. My workplace career is on the back end, so youthful exuberance for journeys has passed me by. I am one of those people who never had dreams, no, I'll rephrase that. I never identified dreams for whatever reason. I do think I'm odd that way, as many people seem to innately know what they want to do with their life. But, we all have this path we follow, and I don't look happenstance in the eye very often. That's part of my faithful core.

Although I'm looking back on my own years, by no means am I isolating my thoughts to the young. I'm not finished with the good race either. Identify your strengths, but most of all, identify with certainty that which gives you an unmistakable sense of dignity and...what makes you whistle a happy tune.

Tradition of Beads for Christian Prayer

Prayer beads are a tradition in many faiths and historically have been used for meditative prayer and drawing closer to God in every age. Most of the religions of the world have used some physical method of counting prayers. 

Most of the world's inhabitants, nearly two-thirds of the planet's population, pray with beads. Traditionally, prayer beads have been strings of similarly sized beads, seeds, knots, or even rose petals and beads made from crushed roses, from which we get the word "rosary." In addition to helping keep the place in structured prayers, prayer beads also symbolize the commitment to spiritual life. A circular form represents the interconnectedness of all who pray. Each bead counted is an individual prayer and repetition of prayers is meant to help maintain a sole focus on the prayer itself. According to history, lay brothers in monasteries who, unlike the monks, knew no Latin, were to say the Lord's Prayer a certain number of times per day, usually 150. To count the prayers, they used pebbles or beads strung on a cord, and this cord was known as a Paternoster. The Paternoster is the original Christian prayer rope. A Paternoster is a linear rope of beads, not in a loop. It has a cross at one end and a tassel at the other. It would be surprising to those who associate Lady Godiva merely with unusual horsemanship, but the first recorded mention of Christian prayer beads is in her will. She bequeathed her paternoster beads of precious gemstones to the convent she founded in 1057.

Most scholars believe that the use of prayer beads originated in ancient India with the Hindus. The strand of Hindu prayer beads, called a mala, was designed for wear around the neck, and consisted of 108 beads for repeating mantras or counting one's breath. The word mala means "rose" or "garland" in Sanskrit. The earliest known mala still in existence is around 2,000 years old.