Day 27 in Review

Prayer: Yes

Scripture: Yes

Silence: Yes

The Deed/The Day: This morning, I tried a friend's suggestion — to pray for each person I saw on the run. That felt pretty good. It also felt good to be "deed done" for the day by 6:15 a.m. But one thing this experiment has taught me is that the more deeding you do, the more you want to do. With food on the brain from today's morning reading, it was no surprise that food played a role in the rest of the day's deeding. A girl called me from the Epilepsy Foundation to see if a story had run about one of her clients. Her client, Chuck, has seizures constantly and lives in the neighborhood with his epilepsy dog, Shae. I wrote a story about how a local vet fixed Shae for free and had provided some gratis veterinary service. The woman was pleased to know the story had run, but expressed concerns about Chuck. She worries that he doesn't eat because he either can't get out to get it, is scared to cook because he might have an episode or doesn't have the leftover funds for food once his healthcare bills are paid. It's funny. When you're keen on deeds, it becomes very clear how frequent — and how obvious — deed opportunities are in our world. With my new appreciation for these moments, I did not let this one slip by unnoticed. I wrote her back later to see how I, or others, could help fill his freezer and pantry with microwavable meals. She was elated. Chuck is this young woman's client, but not her personal responsibility. Yet she is happily saddled with concern of his welfare — isn't that how we should all be, or at least try to be?


Tonight I made a LOT of spaghetti. Marley reminded me that she thinks red sauce is  yucky. Ben took two bites and flew the coop. So instead of pushing leftovers all week, I made a dish for a friend who is struggling with a family member's health and took it to her house. Perhaps making too much food is always a good strategy for do-gooding? Make too much and then challenge yourself to share it with someone who might appreciate it?


Words of encouragement/advice: This from an old high school friend who is now a Catholic writer and campus minister. Thought it was good stuff: "The person who thinks only of himself says only prayers of petition; the one who thinks of his neighbor says prayers of intercession; whoever thinks only of loving and serving God says prayers of abandonment to God's will, and this is the prayer of the saints." - Fulton Sheen


Final thoughts: The house smells of spaghetti and freshly showered children. It's the smell of contentment and the end of a long, fulfilling day.