May God hold you in the palm of His hand...

The other day while watching the Notre Dame-Michigan game, a ND commercial came on inviting folks to visit the campus. The commercial used my favorite Irish blessing and some beautiful Irish music to draw in the viewer (it worked), and it amazed me how good it felt to hear the words of that familiar blessing combined with the comforting beauty of the music.


You know that Danny and I have been experiencing a great deal of stress since AF retirement and since the job in Omaha in June never happened and other potential jobs are still in the 'wait and see' stage. It's difficult to not know yet where we'll be in a week or month or year. We feel very unsettled in our lives as our earthly belongings remain in a storage unit for much longer than we had expected.

My parents have been wonderful as they've graciously shared their home with us, and we love them and appreciate the rare time we've had with them after living far away for so many years.  But despite their kindness, we ache to get back to our own lives in a home of our own.  We haven't felt a sense of permanence or ownership for so long, and while we have no doubt that the Lord's hand is in this trial and that everything truly will be all right, the unease has still accompanied us in every waking moment and, too often, throughout the night.

Having shared that, let me get back to what happened with the Irish blessing I mentioned. The moment I heard the blessing and the music, I felt like a weight was being lifted from my shoulders.  The music soothed my spirit and the words embedded themselves within me, and they're still there comforting me three days later. Haven't left for a moment.  I feel calm and at peace, like I do every time we are in the temple, and I know for certain that the Lord is here with us in our trials. I know Danny wasn't meant to get the job we expected to get back in June, even though we wanted it so badly.  I also know that if we get what we think we want in every situation, maybe we'd miss out on the blessings of true gratitude.

One more thing since my post is focused on my favorite Irish blessing:  As it's gone through my head over and over again this weekend, I've found my thoughts always resting on YOU.  Each of you mean the world to me.  I fervently ask my Father to bless you with the sentiment found in the words of this traditional blessing.  So without further ado, this one's to you... from me... with love:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rains fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
                             (Traditional Gaelic blessing)