At Home Workout: Carrying The Weight Of Our Cross

Tough, tough news for Senator Kennedy yesterday. A malignant brain tumor, and a pretty aggressive type tumor as well. That stinks. Saturday morning he's out walking the dogs on the beach before breakfast, by Saturday afternoon he's been airlifted to Boston and undergoing lots of poking and prodding. Life changes in the blink of an eye.

But who knows that better than Kennedy? The assassinations of his brothers, deaths of his sisters and then both of his children had to battle their own cancer. His Cross must be very heavy.

I am not a big political fan of Sr. Kennedy, but my son and I enjoyed hearing him speak when he introduced Senator Obama in Hartford a couple of months ago. He sure does have an 'air' about him that commands attention. Torrie also thought it was really neat that he was the uncle of Caroline (the song "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond is one of his favorites because it is played at Fenway). So I was sad when I heard the news yesterday. And the passage that I heard Sunday came back to mind: "The Cross is very heavy".

I was driving when I heard a Catholic Priest on the radio answer a question about why there is suffering and why some lives seem to be much more difficult than others. I actually sat in the parking lot and let the car idle because I wanted to hear what his answer would be. He related a story about a woman that had received some kind of medical diagnosis and she was questioning 'why me' and 'why did god let this happen to me? I come to church regularly, pray the Rosary, etc. " He asked her if she were married; "Oh, yes! A beautiful 40 year marriage". Do you have children? "Oh, yes! Two beautiful, successful grown sons". Do you have a home? "Oh, yes! We just finished paying it off, we're set." He said to her "Are you kidding me? You have a marriage, you raised sons, you're financially secure and now you're wondering why you?" He went on to point out the Cross on the wall and said that there are no guarantees that you will always have a 'rosy' life because you are a Christian. In fact, the deeper you walk with Christ the stronger you become to carry the trials and tribulations you may face. We all have Crosses to bear, it is how we carry them that matters. You've trained for the workout - "Why not you?"

I have had back pain as of late. I have been through more Xrays and MRIs in the past few weeks that I can count. Yesterday, I found out that my back pain is not of any cancer origin. I actually giggled with my doctor: "It's been the weight of my Cross that's hurt my back. Finding out that it isn't cancer has lightened the load. I feel better already!" Actually, some physical therapy and a new mattress may really do the trick!

If your back hurts because your Cross is heavy, take comfort in the idea that God will only give you what He knows you can carry, with His help. And if others try to add to your load (which seems to happen - we think we're carrying enough of our own load, then others dump on it too!), tell them to "stay off my Cross, it's heavy enough!"

I'm going to take some Motrin, get a new mattress, say a lot of prayers and marvel at my new found strength, courtesy of my home workout program: Carrying The Cross.

KG

Nature's Alarm Clock

4:22 a.m.... For the past 3 mornings, that it is exactly the time that I have been woken up by the morning songs of the birds outside. It's been great 'sleeping with the windows partially open' weather - warm during the day then dropping to the low 40's at night. I love to sleep with the windows open and an extra blanket, Ken thinks I'm nuts. One little bird starts off the symphony by calling out to the others. He is a couple of backyards over so his chirping is quite faint. Another bird, with a totally different sound answers from my yard, then a few from across the street chime in. It's really very pretty to listen to once you get past the stage of being totally annoyed that you are wide awake and interpreting bird calls at 4:22 a.m!

So I am up and have an hour until I go to church and thought about writing. I have missed that hour at the computer in the mornings, but I have continued on with my routine of attending daily Mass and so enjoy it. I guess now I can do both! In my next post (I am sure the birds don't take the weekends off), I will share with you some experiences I've had during my morning adventures.

My health remains good - undergoing an MRI this afternoon for some issues with my spine. It's at 3:30, I am looking forward already to the nap! Ken and I are off to a black tie affair tomorrow night - A Night Of Hope - to benefit the American Cancer Society. With the walking I have been doing getting ready for the Relay For Life, I've dropped several pounds, so I am ready to get dressed up and dance!

To all of the Mom's: enjoy your special day this weekend! To everyone else: be extra good to Mom!

KG