60/12/2010 ***Have you ever wondered what forgiveness looks like? It looks like this woman, Immaculée Ilibagiza. When I read her book, "Left to Tell" in March, I had no idea that I would get to hear her speak in just a couple of months. She is a survivor of the Rwanda genocide. She hid in a tiny bathroom with seven other women for 91 days while so many of the people of her country were hunted and slaughtered. At times during this ordeal, she could hear her name being called as the men on the other side of the wall searched for her to kill her. Most of her family was murdered by people she had known and trusted all of her life. After the genocide, she even saw the remains of some of her murdered family members. What was going on in that bathroom? Forgiveness. Even as they hunted for her, she asked God for the grace to forgive them. She knew in her heart that they were good men overtaken by an evil. And to see her speak now...there is such joy in her face. It simply radiates from within. This is the face of forgiveness. Has somebody hurt you? Do you find it difficult to see the goodness in that person? Ask God to give you the grace to see the goodness and to forgive. Maybe your face will radiate like Immaculée's. If forgiveness can look like a genocide survivor, it can look like you.
06/11/2010 ***Tears of Hope*** My sister in law is a Peds Pharmacist at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester. So when we visited, she took us on a little tour of the hospital. Both of the chapels were striking, but in different ways. 1st, we went to see the chapel on the 1st floor. It was impressive, huge and very ornate. But then Michele took us to see the original chapel on the 5th floor. This window in the hallway just outside the old chapel greeted us as we got off the elevator. Immediately, I knew this was a place close to God's heart. As I stepped into the chapel, I noticed its simplicity. But even more, I could feel the tears of hope that had been cried in that little chapel since the hospital was built in 1889. This place is where mothers have prayed in silence for their children and wives for their husbands. This place is where we lift our tearful eyes to God and ask for His mercy and healing and it is where we have been laying our loved ones in His arms for over 100 years. The moment I saw this window, I could hear the echoes from the tears of hope that have been cried here for so long. So I converted the picture of it to watercolor.
06/10/2010 ***My time traveler has returned. This time, she comes straight from the American Revolution. Last night when Celine came to say goodnight, she showed me this mop-cap and dress that she had just finished sewing...all hand stitched just as she would have had to do it in the 1770s. I guess I should not be too surprised. Her grandmother's cousin is Carmen Marc Valvo, the fashion designer. It must be a family trait.
