Valentine's arrows

I adore my little family. My boys. The creatures that really are just....different than girls. Beautifully different. I recognize that they bring a sense of the silly and help me to see the world in a brand new way (with or without sunglasses).

As my oldest, Joe, has bravely faced a new school year, we have certainly had our blissful ups and devastating downs. My headstrong, bright boy continues to struggle with friendships and understanding the world....("No mom. Seriously. We can eventually find warp speed and then go visit the saints.")

So I thought nothing of it when I asked Allison at Totus Tuus Family blog to give us the name of a saint to walk with us through the year. We love the saints and talk to them and about them. (You would think that St. Anthony lived in the bedroom down the hall for all of the times that we walk around muttering for him to help us find things..... And that St. John Bosco is a new favorite, one of Joe's companions on the journey.)


Allison gave us the name of Blessed Leonie Martin, the sister of St. Therese. Oh St. Therese. The "little flower" who I so want to imitate and have as my companion. I didn't know much about Leonie, however......


And then I read this...

Blessed Leonie Martin

(Celebrated June 16th)

"Your little Leonie may be changed, not only in name, but in everything which might be displeasing to Him whom

alone she wishes to love." "It is inappropriate for me to moan over my faults as I have done until now. That is pride.

As our Holy Founder said, it is no wonder that weakness is weak; I must humble myself, not vex myself.

Pray for children who are not understood

Have you ever stared at your computer and felt the hair rise on the back of your neck? That brush with the Holy Spirit can be downright electrifying..... 


So on this Valentine's Day, the day usually filled with candy and other sweet things.... And a day that precedes Ash Wednesday by only 8 days this year.... I ask you to remember this:


Remember the arrow that comes from Cupid? Well. It has to pierce....to wound....in order to create that love. 


Remember that love isn't only sweet. It is brutal. It is hard-fought before it is won. It can make you fall to your knees with its power.


Remember that the love of Jesus is like this. Piercing thorns, nails of sins, and a broken, wounded heart....


But, ah... he did rise and brought redemption. (And trueness of love found in Him is worth that wounding....isn't it?!)


SO for me.... this struggle of understanding my child only brings me closer to that cross. To the side of Mary who grieved for her son. And yes, into the arms of my husband who never, ever gives up on me and our children. Whose love makes the journey bearable.


God Bless you on this Valentine's Day. Look to the ones you love in a new way and recognize the GIFT that it is... And as Tom Hanks says in "A League of Their Own".... "The hard is what makes it great."  


Joining in here today:

Yarn Along {Knit Together}

Years ago, my Grandma Krystofik taught me how to knit. She patiently sat beside me and would guide my fingers around the needles and help me to navigate the tangle-y yarn. We laughed until we cried because I was simply...awkward. To be honest, I felt awkward in my body and knitting kind of reinforced that. But oh, I loved those times with Grandma, and would look at all of the wonderful blankets that she had created. 

I realize that I never should have stopped attempting to make my hands lose their awkwardness.... and am so glad that I have decided to learn this craft again. I wrote a little about it here. 

What is most amazing to me is that when I pick up the needles, the muscle memory returns, and I hear her voice and her sweet laugh. (Well. I also remember her cackle and her sigh and her questioning "Are you ready for some lunch now? Because I am.") 

So now, I am simply working on dishcloths. Focusing on the stitches. Trying to keep the tension the same. Relearning. Remembering. I have no idea if I will ever create something as lovely as a sweater....

As for reading, I have been looking through the Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison and learning new (interesting?) ways to cook vegetables. Really attempting to fill the bellies of my husband and sons with nutritious foods. 

Joe and I have been reading Stories of the Child Jesus from Many Lands. Good stuff here. We are also still reading and discussing The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

And I have also gifted myself the Magnificat. A lovely way to pray with prayers drawn from the Liturgy of the Hours. Tom and I truly do love Night Prayer, and are trying to get more into a rhythm of doing so TOGETHER. There is something so precious about the whispered words "God come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me." And our other favorite? "Protect us Lord as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake we may keep watch with Christ and asleep, rest in his peace." What a lovely way to fall asleep...a way to shut out the world. And remember that we were knit together so beautifully....

Gratefully joining in with Ginny today: