Influence

"Our body is a cenacle, a monstrance: through its crystal the world should see God." -St. Gianna Molla


I often wonder what purpose my suffering is for. Am I actively suffering for my own soul? For others'? Or is it because when I suffer I am an example to others? I must admit that I am most uncomfortable with the latter since I know how crabby I can be when I am in pain.

In order to keep going on, surviving with my suffering, I need to pray and to remind myself over and over that everything I do, including how I react to my suffering, has an influence on those around me and therefore on the world. I hope that my influence is a good and holy one.

Challenging myself

I haven't blogged much this past month. I've been busy with my kids, playing Halo: Reach, and preparing for my very first NaNoWriMo. I have refined and outlined my plot and settings. I have a good idea of my characters. I even thought of a title: Coffee Run.

I am still a tiny bit scared to death. I don't want to fail, but I don't want to be too scared to try either. So I'm stepping out in faith and determined to do my best.

Something weird

Since my fiance and I live states apart, we speak to each other on the phone almost every night. Lately he has gotten into the habit of asking me a certain question each night.

"Did you see anything strange today?"

Thanks to that question I have been noticing (and enjoying) a lot of things in the world that I would otherwise have taken for granted or not payed attention to at all:

vanity license plates

bizarre animal behavior

funny business signs

people dressed strangely

video game glitches

and so much more.

This has helped me be a bit more cheerful throughout the day as I keep an eye out for the unusual in the world and remember to tell my love about it each night.