friends (in high places!)

I have had the most remarkable couple of weeks. First of all, my meeting with the bishop began with quite a bang. I got to his office only to realize I'd forgotten my notes on the kitchen counter. I started to panic (quietly) and then realized that this might be an opportunity to be more authentic with him. When I told him what happened, he did a thumbs up and heartily agreed. (Usually, I have copious notes with me, trying very hard to make sure I tell him EVERYTHING I think is important! His reaction here told me a lot about what he really feels about all my notes!) Guess what? I actually ended up telling him things I hadn't intended and I left, thinking he most likely needed to hear them. As usual, he was very kind to me but also firm. As always, he challenged my thinking in a way that I felt very validated. I told him that, in the aftermath of my termination from the pregnancy center (which, by the way, he wanted to hear all about), I felt as though I was wasting time regarding the new community of Sisters. He rolled his eyes and told me to give myself a break. He said I'd just been given a huge distraction and that I had to recover from it. He said he wasn't concerned about anything regarding the community.

He's an awesome listener...and I still sometimes feel as though I should pinch myself in order to really believe that I have a bishop's ear for an hour every 3 months or so. Given how busy he is, that is something that is very precious and such an honor for me.

At the end of our meeting, I invited him to my students' piano recital, scheduled for the next evening. I knew it was a long shot that he'd be free. (He wasn't; he had a meeting at a parish in Minneapolis.) I prefaced my invitation by giving him a program and explaining that I'd heard through the grapevine that he was a piano player. His eyes just twinkled as he looked through the program, asking questions. He told me it brought him back to his youth when he'd be taken downtown Minneapolis to the Schmitt Music Company (where there was a large auditorium) for his recital. He said it was always a huge deal because his teacher wore a ball gown and a corsage and it struck fear in all her students. I told him I didn't do any of that. He sighed and said, "Thank you for not doing that to your students!"

The bishop was especially interested in MY name as composer of one of the pieces on the program. I told him how one of my beginning students had come to me with "lyrics" and wanted me to put it to music. Here are the words:

Nana and I put on our mittens and drove to Tim Horton's; got twenty five Timbits and 2 muffins. Yum! Yum! Yum! Wow!

Note: her grandmother lives in Canada, where Tim Horton's Restaurants are prevalent.

She and I worked on it together, with me adding a simple accompaniment. We decided she would sing it and I would accompany her and at the end we would both say "Wow!" The bishop was very interested in this whole process. I believe he would have gone to the recital had he not had another commitment. Imagine my students' reaction if he had been there...That recital would not have been one they would forget any time soon!

The next day, I had an appointment with my counselor. I wanted to check in with her about my emotional state. I refuse to morph into a bitter, angry person just because I was once fired. The cruelty and injustice of it all have been a bit of a challenge to overcome but, in talking it out with her, I discovered that I've come a long way toward healing the hurt. I truly do see it as a great blessing in my life. Even the suffering has been a gift!

The day after that, on recommendation of the bishop, I called a new priest friend who has been inviting me into conversation with him. The bishop told me that he was probably one of the very best spiritual directors around and it was time to understand that God was giving him to me for such a purpose. I'd been complaining to him how every priest I'd asked so far had turned me down for this role. He said it reminded him of the man on the roof in a flood. A boat came along, a helicopter came along, and still he drowned, waiting for the Lord to save him. He asked God why he hadn't saved him and the Lord said, "I sent a boat, I sent a helicopter. Why didn't you jump aboard one of them?" I told him, in my defense, I thought Father was becoming my friend and it might be a conflict. He said it sounded to him as though I was learning a lot and I needed to let it unfold naturally. See? He shows me the error of my ways and it is very, very good!

Anyway, my priest friend is very busy being the pastor of a large parish. I figured he'd be able to meet with me in 2 or 3 weeks. He said, "What about tomorrow? I have all day after morning Mass." Yikes! I believe that was the Holy Spirit telling me something! Our meeting was yet another opportunity to share with and learn from one another.

My friends are rallying around me, too. I consider them to be friends in high places. They may not have fancy titles but they minister to me in so many consoling ways. Dinner and a movie with a very close friend...lunch with another...Two days of music teacher meetings (paid for by my sweet friend!)...dinners baked by another generous friend...a very beautiful card out of the blue in the mail...Then, tonight, I called a priest friend who is moving to a parish after 13 years of being the pastor at another parish. I wanted to find out how he was doing. As we talked, he asked me if I'd eaten dinner. I told him I hadn't and he asked, "Do you want to now?" So, we both jumped into our cars and met at a local Italian restaurant. What I enjoyed about it was being in the moment and reacting to that moment. God was present with us! Father was also the one who took me out to dinner the night I was fired. I will never, ever forget his kindness to me that night.

Since this is already a long, long tome, I won't make it longer by telling you about all my saints and angel friends. They have been surrounding me in prayer support through it all. St. Therese the Little Flower, St. Anthony, Mary, our Mother, St. Peter, St. Monica, St. Michael, little Matteo...these are only a few of my close friends in heaven. I know that they are a blessing to all of us. They advocate for us in ways about which we have no idea. I just wonder how they can listen to all my bellyaching and still have time for everyone else. It's an awesome mystery, isn't it?

And, then, there's God, the most glorious Friend of all. He is with us always in awesome, beautiful ways. Talk about a Friend in a high place!