Herein Lies The Peace of God

  Photo Credit: David Beale After three weeks of travelling across the country (twice!) in November, I returned home exhausted and jet-lagged. I not only slept all night but part of the next day. I had 14 eBay sales while I was gone that needed packing, and by the time I had them ready to go to the post office, it was Sunday afternoon. My plan was to drive down to Virginia Beach to see my mom sing in the Christmas cantata at her church at 7:00 pm. I would also retrieve my dog, Ziggy, that mom had cared for in my absence, spend the night, mail my eBay packages on Monday morning, and drive home. Just as I was about to depart, my son came to me and said he needed to talk. He was upset because he had realized at the very end of the semester that he was probably going to fail his Accounting class. He told me that even if he aced the final, he was not likely to pass the class.  I was torn - I needed to get on the road but I also want to be there for my son. What to do? I told him th...

  Photo Credit: Roman Kraft This morning I read my daily workbook lesson #288 from A Course in Miracles and thought about my stepfather. He married my mom when I was 15 years old and we always had a great relationship. I can't recall every being angry or annoyed with him, nor him with me. Many people may have this kind of relationship, but what made it exceptional was that my stepfather had very difficult relationships with many other people in his life, including my mother, his friends, and his own children. When he passed away last May, two of his three children - who had not spoken to him in years - did not even show up for his funeral.  As I came to understand what unconditional love is through A Course in Miracles , I began to see that I was able to love my stepfather in this way because we had no history together. Although he self identified as bi-polar, I never thought of him as mentally ill. I always saw him as the guy who stepped in to help raise me when my fath...

  Photo Credit: Gabrielle Henderson Two days ago I came downstairs early in the morning and noticed a pile of dog poop at the bottom of the stairs. I was mentally congratulating myself for side-stepping it as I headed towards the front door to shut off the porch light. Then, I looked down and realized that I had stepped right into ANOTHER pile of dog poop.  If this had happened to me a few years ago, I would have been extremely aggravated, and this start to the day would have ruined the rest of it for me. Instead, my heart was flooded with gratitude! These are the thoughts that immediately popped into my mind: I'm so glad I am wearing socks and didn't get it on my feet! I'm so glad I have a clean pair of back-up yoga pants to change into, since it got all over my pants cuff I'm so glad my dog is pooping normally again, because last week she was sick and leaving puddles of diarrhea everywhere I'm so glad that I can just toss these clothes into my automatic washing ma...

  Photo Credit: Warren Wong I was afraid of the dark until I was 36 years old. I seriously would not get of bed for any reason at night. If I had to pee, I would wait until morning rather than "face my fear". Soon after my son was born, however, I awoke in the middle of the night to hear him crying. It seemed like his voice was coming from high above his bassinet - as if he were floating in the air. I got the creeps and did not want to get out of bed to check on him. There was a battle inside of me between my fear and my maternal instinct, which insisted that I needed to put my own desires aside and care for him. I got out of bed and crossed the room to his bassinet, my heart pounding. He was not floating in the air but laying in bed, crying. I picked him up to comfort him, and as a result of that one act, my fear of the dark disappeared for the next 20 years! A Course in Miracles talks a lot about the light and the darkness. It says:  If you can stand aside from the ego by ...

  Photo Credit: Markus Spiske My daily workbook lessons have lately mirrored my parenting challenges. I thought with all three kids gone to college this year that I would be able to relax and take it easy. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Apparently my ego had a different idea, and I have faced major challenges this month to forgive my attachments to my children.  On the day of Lesson 240   -   Fear is not justified in any form  -  I learned that one of my kids had tried to commit suicide. The vice president of the university actually called me to make sure that I knew and was in contact with the hospital. It ended well with a discharge a few hours later, a referral for counseling, and a prescription for anti-depressants. In the intervening hours, however, I had the opportunity to watch my mind. The ego tried to convince me that I wouldn't be a good mother unless I sat by the phone with knots in my stomach, but I knew better. That path is not "truly helpfu...

Photo Credit: Paul Trienekens I recently completed a two week road trip with my mom to take my daughter to college in Silver City, New Mexico from Virginia. It was one of the longest road trips I have taken and my first time visiting the southwestern part of the United States. The trip was both an exciting vacation and fun family bonding time, but it also turned out to be full of miracles! I had begun a 7-week  True Prosperity  class with the  Teachers of God Foundation  beforehand and I continued to work the program as I traveled.  In  Module I   we covered "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of Heaven" - knowing that everything is already provided. I practiced "not complaining and not explaining".   Then, I had the idea to cash in my credit card points to get prepaid Visa gift cards for our trip. My mom offered to drive and supplied her van, arriving prior to our departure so that we could load all my daughter's belongings. I received $500 worth of ...

  I recently began working at a local farm one day a week. My daughter works there and I ride in with her. Our boss had been assigning us to work together, so that she could show me how to do things. However, last week she had a morning dental appointment, so she just dropped me off at 8:30 am. I expected her to come back to work right after her appointment, and I left my lunch box in her car.  When she reported for duty, she was assigned to work at a different location. Not only was I missing my lunch, but my bottled water and my phone charger. I was dropped off in a field in the middle of nowhere, with instructions for using the tractor to plant sorghum seed, and left alone! I started work, hoping that I would finish soon and could call for pick-up. After a few hours I looked at my cell phone and realized that my battery was extremely low. I sent my daughter a quick text message letting her know my location, and then my phone died! There I was, with no way to contact an...

  In 1995, while living in Nicaragua, my husband and I found out that we were expecting our first child and decided that we might as well get a dog too. We adopted Gypsy, an adorable long-haired dachshund puppy, and it was love-at-first-sight.  Gypsy moved with us from Nicaragua to Mexico City for 2 years, then on to Havana, Cuba where tragedy struck. One day, I took my small children and Gypsy to the swimming pool at the hotel where we were living while awaiting permanent housing.  I allowed Gypsy to run free within the fenced-in pool area. As I was gathering the children and their toys up to return to our hotel room, I noticed that a man had called Gypsy over and given her a treat. I thought it was odd, but I was distracted by managing a toddler, a baby, the beach towels, floaters and my room key. It was only after we returned to our hotel room that I noticed Gypsy convulsing, and then she began to vomit blood. I rushed her to the vet, but she could not be saved. They s...

  Photo Credit: Daiga Ellaby I went on an amazing trip to  Kripalu Yoga Center  in Stockbridge, Massachusetts last week to attend a Forgiveness Workshop presented by  Byron Katie . I thought that I was going to forgive my issues with money and weight. And while I did do a little work on those two issues, my biggest miracles occurred in connection to special relationships.  I want to share one that involved my younger sister. I didn't think I still had grievances with her, but during the workshop a story surfaced that contained a lot of subconscious guilt. We were probably 7 and 8 years old and it was summer time. We were attending a Girl Scout day camp, and my mom was in a hurry to get us to the bus as we were running late. My mom jumped into the car and accidentally backed over several kittens as she pulled out of the driveway, killing them. Of course she didn't realize that the kittens were there, and she was distraught. My sister began to cry and was still ba...

  Photo Credit: Anna Dziubinska When I was younger my mind was frequently filled with so many concerns that I found it hard to keep track of simple things like my keys, my wallet, or my checkbook.  On many occasions I was so preoccupied with thoughts that I locked myself out of my car. I often misplaced important bills. I had so much information clogging my mind, that I was unable to also focus on my surroundings. I felt overwhelmed most the time.  After many expensive lessons - some of which involved paying a locksmith to get me back into my car - I trained myself to be more conscientious with important things. I got a hook to always hang my keys on and designated a drawer for my checkbook.  While this made some aspects of life easier, I still felt overwhelmed a lot. I didn't understand why at the time, but I now know that it was because I was trying to do everything alone. By myself. Without divine intervention.   I didn't even KNOW that there was a benev...