After 42 years of organized terror from an oil rich land, Mommar Khaddafy is dead.
As a Catholic, I do not rejoice at the death of any man. However, as a citizen of the world who has watched in horror as this man held the rest of us hostage and reeked havoc and death on any he deemed unworthy of life, I cannot help but smile. I would love to know how his first face to face meeting with Our Lord went and how he explained himself.
Meanwhile -
Most of you will recognize the story of my friend, Patty Patrick (Abba's Little Girl at blogspot). Patty, the daughter of a Calvinist Baptist Minister and the older sister of a prominent Evangelical, Anti-Catholic Bigot (that is my description, not something he would call himself), has written extensively of the sexual abuse she endured at the hands of her father and the ultimate rejection she experienced when she told. Patty has been stalked online by her brother, referred to as mentally ill, called a liar, threatened with lawsuits and ultimately kept from her dying mother's bedside.
Patty has walked through this heartbreak with grace, dignity and her head held high. Along the way, she has shared her experience, strength and hope in a series of writings she entitled The Out of Darkness series (you can find this at her blog site). I hope she gets to publish it as a book some day as her candid examination of a life spent locked in misery, sin and abuse until she found the fullness and beauty of The Catholic Church can do nothing but help others. Patty could have gone over the edge and down the rabbit hole. Instead, she chose to stand up and fight - for her dignity, for her true sexuality and for her true self as a daughter of The Lord of Hosts.
Patty is now entering a new phase of healing. Without going into details, I can tell you that this next phase is going to be the toughest on her. It will require the ultimate test of Trust in God. It will be painful and it will be gut-wrenching and, if she continues through it (of which I have no doubt she will), the most rewarding.
This is what I realized this morning; no matter what I have ever gone
through, God has provided me with wonderful, stable people who are
walking the same path as me. Usually, however, they are about
a mile or two ahead of me, clearing the way and leaving very clear footprints for me to follow. Whether the problem be financial, physical,
spiritual or mental I have always been blessed with amazing examples of
how to walk through difficult times with grace, dignity and my head
held high.
Today, three days out of surgery and waiting desperately for my body to start working in a more efficient manner, I am blessed to know i have people in my life who have done this 'before' - and all I have to do is ask for guidance.
My 12 Step Program provides people who have walked before me. My Church provides people who have walked before me. I am surrounded by a wealth of experience, strength and hope in my life that is perfectly amazing.
As I pray my Rosary today, I know I am a woman who has not been kicked to the curb by life. I am, instead, a woman rich in family, in love and in life itself. And while my ragtag family may not look like a Norman Rockwell creation, we are an interesting group of gypsies, tramps, thieves, princes and queens...we are God's kids.
How blessed am I?
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