Diary of a Happy Nan: September 2021

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Guinness time again. 🍺🎆

Micheal’s first venture outdoors since before Lockdowns began almost two years ago. First pint of Guinness in all that time too. Moving joyful experience for all three of us.

Micheal was feeling a little anxious, he told us. Happily we could assure him from our deepest hearts that he is not alone. Lockdowns, while acutely necessary, have rendered many of us a tad fragile, unsteady on our feet. We are all in this together thanks be to God.

Corona has impacted all of our lives in one way or another, there are no exceptions.

‘We are all in the same boat and we are all seasick’. (G.K. Chesterton)

Outside the window a beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky. Perfect timing.

When Diarmuid got news of our planned adventure, right away he lodged twenty five euro to treat Micheal. When Micheal was told, he beamed: ‘He’s a great boy’.

My friend John rang to say that when he went to pay for his meal in the Anchor this evening, he learned it was already paid for by my nephew Eddy. Young folk with big beautiful hearts.

Enduring power of kindness, like snow, it covers everything. Giving things away is definitely the secret of happiness and radiant living.

Today, 21/4/2022 Micheal skipped lightly to his eternal home in Heaven. May the Lord have mercy on your gentle soul Micheal. 🕯🙏🏻

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Jackie❤️

’Each morning He wakes me to hear, to listen like a disciple’. (Isaiah 50:4)

Can you imagine a life without prayer’, I ask Jackie. ‘Oh no. That would be very bad’. says he, smiling gently. ‘You know Jesus and Mary’, I add. ‘Oh I do’, he replies with that humble knowing look. Unambiguous.💡

The rest of our precious time together, we spend in prayer. Prayer is Jackie’s first language. Resplendent with the Holiness of God, he speaks every gentle syllable with deep feeling. Jackie is not on his own when he prays, that is very apparent. Sacred silent witnesses are all around.

I caught a glimpse of Heaven in Jackie’s simple sacred cell this afternoon.

‘The world cannot ruffle the dignity of a soul that dwells in its own tranquility’. (John o’Donohue)

‘When we feel the presence of God in our daily lives, we can only say: ‘“God is here”, and the first thing to do is to fall on our knees’. (Pope Frances)

Today, 10/12/2021, Jackie passed on to his eternal reward. Silently he slipped away, no fanfare, Jackie died as he lived. God rest your beautiful soul Jackie. I am so thrilled we had that beautiful afternoon together in September. You are forever in my heart and prayers, I know I am in yours.❤️🙏🏻

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Sunshine walked beside her.☀️

‘Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do’. (Clarissa Pinkola-Estes)

Already a young lady at the Bank machine and so I waited my turn. After a few minutesshe stepped away, offering me her place, telling me that she would finish her transaction when I had completed mine. Declining her kind offer, I suggested she take as long as she needed to take. She graciously accepted.

Waiting in line is never a problem for me. Not having to do anything except stand and stare makes me very happy. When she was through, she turned to me and said simply, without fanfare: ‘I am really sorry for the long delay. I have Hutchinson disease you see and everything is more difficult for me now’.

Radiating pure joy, her heavenly smile had me transfixed and in no way matched what her worrying words were portraying. ‘What is it like’, I asked. ‘Very similar to Parkinson’s disease’, she replied. ‘May I offer you a prayer that I love to say and share’, I asked, aware that a person was waiting for me to take my place at the Bank machine. ‘You may indeed’, she replied, still smiling sweetly, ‘I’m a Christian’.

I was reminded of a line from the song ‘Tecumseh Valley’ by Townes Van Zantac: ‘It seemed to me that sunshine walked beside her’. Fleeting momentous light-filled meeting.

Thank you Father God for that sublime Divine encounter on this exceedingly happy day. The day I submit my final repayment on my Credit Union loan after what seems like forever. Exciting times ahead, my Widow’s pension can’t all be just for me.........

(Prophetic words indeed!! Asylum seekers in our town right now needing all the help they can get - October 2023)

‘Speak Lord, Your servant is listening’. (1Samuel 3:10)

Nil balance. 😀🙏🏻

‘The choice is yours to fall or rise, to injure or to bless. To fill a room with gloom or light it up with happiness. To use or waste the precious hours, to work or take your ease. To walk the path of duty or to go the way you please’. (Patience Strong)

Sunday, September 19, 2021

The Docter wouldn’t like to be hungry himself. 🎆

I asked God for one cat, He despatched four. God will never be outdone in generosity. They make an appearance every single day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They simply eat and go. I love them. They love me. Agape Love. It is ENOUGH.

‘If you keep feeding them, they will continue dropping by’, a friend cautioned. ‘I hope so’, I told her, honestly. Forty years ago, when I told my dear Mom that my Docter strongly advised against giving my ravenous newborn baby, Eric, a bottle of milk alongside being breast fed, she replied simply: ‘The Docter would not like to be hungry, himself’. Wow😀 Right away, I fed Eric his first bottle and he slept soundly, happy and content.

Mom’s sage wisdom has stayed with me all down the long years. Nobody takes leave of No.6 without sustenance, God makes every provision.

‘God’s command is His enabling. He will not ask you to do anything which He will not enable you to perform and don’t you forget it’. (Elizabeth Elliot)

I did not ask God for a dog but Lady Collie, feeling a little peckish, dropped by today. Our God is a God of surprises😀 She’s as welcome as the flowers of May. There is always enough to go around.

‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want’. (Psalm 23:1)🙏🏻

Friday, September 17, 2021

Some days are diamonds.💍

Marina’s Birthday today.🌸 Tea and apple tart in the Park Hotel. Cheerful change of scenery after lengthy lonely lockdowns. Happy days are here again.🥳

Later on, as I called out 3PM Holy Rosary, a young family entered Church. Newborn baby unsettled and so Mom sat down on a pew to feed her. Dad and toddler sat down too. After a whiile both parents began to pray Holy Rosary along with me.📿 Extraordinarily beautiful 🕊

As I prayed: ‘Save the unborn’ after each decade, my heart was deeply moved, seeing and hearing that little newborn baby and her loving family. What a priviledge to be part of such an incredibly poignant moment in time.

Chatting with them afterwards, Mom told me that she felt exactly the same. ‘We were meant to be here’, she said, smiling broadly. Sublime moment of Grace for all of us.

Thank you Father God. You will never be outdone in generosity. To do Your Will is my only desire.❤️

Monday, September 13, 2021

Priceless💎

Phil rang to let me know that Cormac having contracted COVID, had passed away peacefully. May The Lord have mercy on his gentle soul. I was so sad but super grateful to God for our one special day together, three weeks prior.

Cormac, deep in Alzheimer’s, I had never laid eyes on him up to that point, my prime privilege to be his companion for one whole day. We sat in Church, gazing lovingly on Jesus in the Holy Tabernacle as Jesus lovingly gazed on us. We watched television - well, the television was switched on as it seemed to gift Cormc some relaxation but mostly he slept soundly propped up by cozy pillows. I prayed from my well worn prayer book while Cormac slept.

Many times during our day together I would look into his eyes and say: ‘You would make my day if you would give me even the tiniest smile’. Always, he would stare back at me, emotionless, Cormac’s smile long gone, dwelling alone in a far off obscure mysterious universe, marooned on his own island, or so it seemed.

However, I definitely had the profound sense that Cormac was more aware on some level than folk realised or gave him credit for.

Late in the evening, as I walked to the sink with my cup, Cormac walking slowly towards me, handed me a newspaper. He stood for a moment and then without warning, he smiled 😊, fleeting smile, but glorious smile nevertheless.

Flabbergasted, over the moon, I danced on the spot for pure joy: ‘Thank you, thank you Cormac’, I told him. ‘I knew you would smile for me, I knew it’. Not one scintilla of a doubt! Cormac understood. The heart has an inner ear: H-‘EAR’-T.

Cardinal Robert Sarah wrote in his insightful book ‘The Power of Silence’: ‘Words spoil anything that surpasses them’ and this is certainly true of the momentous moment I speak of.

I must write it though, an event so beautiful and moving must be remembered.

‘I have written very poor compared to the reality. I cannot put it in words’. (St. Faustina)

‘There are no ordinary people. You have never talked with a mere mortal’. (C.S. Lewis)

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Happy days.🥳🎶

At liberty once again to catch up with family and friends. Huge Blessing for all of us. After lockdowns, we take nothing for granted anymore, feeling of newness abounds. Gratitude to God hangs heavy in the air. Whatta Mighty God we serve. 🙏🏻 ❤️