A day of experiencing God's blessings

Friday, May. 15, 2015

God made his face to shine upon me Saturday, although at dawn I had no hint it would be so: On the schedule were a story to cover, a photo assignment and cleaning the bathroom.

The story was at the Trappist monastery in Huntsville, where Archbishop Wester celebrated a Mass to say farewell to the monks. In the morning I drove north in falling rain that portended a wet and gloomy day.

The weather did in fact remain dreary, but my day didn’t. The first bright spot was a call from my older sister just as I arrived in Huntsville. We touched base on a couple of things, and I felt the warmth of family ties as I stepped from my car into the drizzle.

The next indication of the day’s extraordinary nature was a blue columbine in full bloom in a planter just outside the monastery chapel.

I have wanted to see a blue columbine ever since I was in grade school in Colorado, where it is the state flower. We had orange columbines growing in our yard back then, and somewhere I read that those that are blue are found only above a certain altitude. 

Since moving to Utah, I’ve kept my eyes peeled when I hike in the mountains, but although I’d seen white ones and red ones and yellow ones, I’d never seen a blue columbine until Saturday, when I wasn’t even looking for it.

Mass with a religious community always seems extra prayerful to me, and that morning’s Eucharist celebration was no different. 

Afterward, I headed to CCS Northern Utah’s Joyce Hansen Hall food bank in Ogden, where not only were truckfuls of food coming in because of the letter carriers’ drive, but a couple of Juan Diego Catholic High School students and art instructor Jim McGee were installing a mural the painting class had created. (You can see photos on p. 8.)

The mural adds a swath of cheerful color to the otherwise plain pantry where clients fill their grocery baskets, and the cans collected that day will help sustain the food bank into the summer. Both brought home to me once again that even with all the despair in the world, people still care about others who are in need.

Next on my agenda was lunch. Because it was on my way to the office and I was in the mood to try something new, I stopped at The Garage, which I had heard has excellent burgers but where I had never eaten before.

What I didn’t know, until I walked in the door, was that me dressed for work would be distinctly out of place in The Garage on a Saturday afternoon. I also happened to be the sole person of the female persuasion in the joint, and the only one who wasn’t interested in an alcoholic beverage to go with my meal.

Nevertheless, as I sat at the bar, the bartender greeted me warmly and made me feel right at home. After I’d ordered, I opened my book, and he came back to see what I was reading. His attitude didn’t change when I explained what Sayings of the Desert Fathers is about. Then, while I was eating (yes, the burger was delicious!), one of the other patrons chatted with me. Overall it was such a welcoming experience, compared to the sterile professional treatment at most restaurants, that it reminded me of Cheers – a place “where everybody knows your name.”

Reflecting on the day, I realized that even though I’d been feeling far from God because I hadn’t been making time for him, he has remained close, as he amply demonstrated. I give thanks that he opened my eyes to see it.