Good Things Happen at the Grotto

 Over the years I have lit a candle at the Notre Dame Grotto and prayed.  I remember a time when Dan was very unhappy in second grade and I chatted with Our Lady herself telling her she was a mother too and should know how concerned I was for Dan.   That situation resolved itself with another school and a happy boy. There were many such times over the years not always with such clear answers.

We were surprised and pleased to find a grotto just a ten minute walk from our apartment along the towpath by the Delaware Raritan Canal.  It may be left from the days that there was a St. Joseph Seminary across the street in a large campus now used by a private elementary school.   It is not as impressive as the one at Notre Dame and it would be unsafe to light a candle.   But at least I don't feel I should donate $3!

Last week when Jim went golfing, I went there and used the Sacred Space app on my phone.  In the morning, Chris Rea, our pastor in South Bend, had prayed for me at my request at the Women's Bible Study.  I asked to find ways to use my skills here in Princeton.  While sitting on a bench there, my phone dinged with a text from Lauren McFeaters, one of our pastors here.  She made an appointment to chat with me about opportunities.  It was progress toward answering my prayer!

Today again when Jim went golfing, I walked down the path and sat on the bench praying particularly for a good friend in Michigan who had a stroke and had begun hospice care.   We are so sad and feel very far away from him and his family.  Again, my phone dinged with a text from our dear granddaughter Katie.  I had been planning to text her about getting together for a takeout supper.  She must have got that word from her parents so she was suggesting a time and place.   I was aware that life is so full of sorrow, but also full of joy.  And her text brought me great joy.  

It makes me wonder what good thing will happen the next time I go to our own little grotto to pray.   I don't usually think in these terms,  but I feel as if God may have another surprise for me.  In any case, I am grateful for these two visits and the texts that arrived while sitting in that quiet place.