5 Weekly Graces Vol. 18

Last week was the first week since I began the 5 Weekly Graces series that I did not post. It wasn't that I didn't find good moments, but I was SWAMPED with work and school and other commitments. 

For reference, I began the week getting stitches on Monday which alone was exhausting, but then I had 2 long meetings and it was my night to cook - Tuesday felt nauseated all day and had a hard time getting anything done - Wednesday I had class and work -Thursday had 2 significant class presentations - and Friday I had 2 papers and was leading a group study session that needed prepped. I was also leaving Friday afternoon to drive down to LA with a friend for a conference.

 Oh, and on the way his car broke down about 3 hours from where we needed to be so what should have been a 6 hour trip turned into a 14 hour trip ending when I made it to the hotel at 5:12am. 

It was quite the week, let me tell you. 

But even through all of that mayhem, there were still so many moments of grace. For example, the car broke down as we were exiting to grab dinner so we weren't stranded on the side of the road. I was also able to finish an assignment while we waited, so the car trouble forced me to be productive. And because of a change of schedule for the ride home I made two new friends, was able to pick my roommate up at the airport, and made it to community dinner which was not supposed to happen. 

All-in-all, there was beauty in the chaos and to answer T-Swift's question: yes. We are out of the woods.

Below are 5 more beautiful moments found amidst the confusion last week.

Blessed Is She

On Tuesday, I was scrolling through Facebook and saw that one of my favorite devotional groups/blogs/websites, Blessed Is She, shared my recent post on Lent via their page! I was shocked when I saw and just so deeply humbled. Seeing the link definitely helped improve my spirits last week :)

Understanding Friends

Sometimes I have way more on my plate then I can handle. You're all shocked, I know. I have been intentionally trying to listen more to my heart and body to know my limits and when I just have too much going on. On Thursday I recognized that the only way I would have everything done before leaving for LA would be to pull an all-nighter - y'all, I am way too old for that now. So rather than stress myself out and exhaust myself even more, I carefully discerned what needed to be postponed and reached out to the friends affected by it. They were so graceful and understanding that I was nearly in tears - though that could have been the exhaustion. I seriously can't express enough how much their genuine understanding eased my anxiety. People are good.

RE Congress

This weekend was the annual Religious Education Congress in Anaheim, CA. It's basically a giant gathering of Catholics who come to learn more about their faith, ministerial practices, etc. There are tons of talks to go to by a lot of different speakers on a variety of topics. Some of the big name speakers this year included James Martin, Greg Boyle, Bishop Barron, and Sr. Helen Prejean. This was my second year at Congress and it was just as fun (and crowded) as I remember - even if I didn't get to spend much time there.

Disneyland!

Once I was done working at RE Congress on Saturday I met up with friends for my first trip to Disneyland! (I even got a "first visit" button to celebrate the occasion!) Even though it was only half a day at the park, we were able to ride tons of rides, see some great shows and even meet Mickey! And the newly added Star Wars parts were amazing! I guess you could say it was a magical time ;)

Nap

After a very full week and weekend with minimal sleep, yesterday I was able to take an afternoon nap and boy was is amazing. Napping is good for the soul my friends.

Where did you find good last week?

Peace,
Sarah


** linking up with Stay Gold Autumn, and Love the Here and Now