Anna....

Today's sermon was about the mustard seed and how a small bit of faith can grow into something beautiful; as a small seed can become a huge bush that shades birds from the sun..On this hot Georgia day, that resonated.

 But I see a bigger picture; that a small offering of love can bring bushels and cartons of the same.And how a small girl can grow into a lovely young woman.

It was over 12 years ago that I paid a visit to a person newly coming to the Catholic Church.She was a gentle, sweet grandma who seemed to relish every moment of class.She came in between chemotherapy sessions.Never complaining, she smiled and soon we became friends.Thus, the invitation to visit her at home. The day of that brief visit, I met her small granddaughter, Anna.She may have been 5 years old and although shy, she had an engaging smile just like her grandma.Brown hair and slight, we shared few words yet, I recall being so glad to meet her.

Her Grandmother, Linda, passed away a few months after she was baptized into the Lord.This is what I believe; she left me Anna as a gift. Each Sunday, I see Anna and her little sister, Emma, and they shower me with love.Anna is going off to college soon, and one day she will probably move on but for now, she shows me Christ.I receive Him in the Eucharist and then again from her.This is what I felt this morning.This is what Church means : this is the Body of Christ.This is the gift we were left.