Happy 80th Birthday

 

I just arrived home from the time I spend at day’s end in the adoration chapel.  While there, I pray the rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet for our country, and prayers for people and souls I never want to forget.  And I spend time just being in Jesus’ presence, a visitor in His house.  I always have lots of stuff to talk about, and sometimes I just ramble, and often He lets me know His response or thoughts on the matters, even if sometimes He has to interrupt my ramblings.

Today, there were a number of people coming and going in the chapel.  I was never alone, which was a bit surprising since it had snowed heavily this morning, and the roads were pretty hazardous.  At a certain point an elderly man with a cane entered the chapel.  I only noticed because he spoke to someone standing next to him “you’ll come back, right?  Don’t be in any hurry.”  I assumed that the man had been helped on the snowy walks, perhaps by the guy who was plowing the church parking lot.  Time passed quickly, and I felt it was time for me to go home --- I didn’t want to overstay my welcome.  I noticed that now there was only the elderly man sitting near the door and me in the chapel.  And as I was about to pass him, the man who had first helped him came back in.  The older man beckoned me over to speak to him, and asked about the proper way to leave the chapel empty, since we both were leaving.  I told him I would take care of things, but he said “No, my son-in-law will do that.”  Apparently, that was the man who had come in to help him.  Then he said: “I just had to come here today; today is my 80^th birthday.”  And I told him I recently turned 77, but these birthdays don’t matter.  When I die, I told him, there will be a birthday cake at my funeral because “that’s a birthday worth celebrating.”  He didn’t laugh, but only nodded seriously, and said: “Yes, I agree.”

And we parted new friends, from our Friend’s house.

Driving home I thought that perhaps I should have told him how special that chapel is, and all the miracles (or amazing coincidences) I have seen there.  But then I thought, no, perhaps this was just another.