familiar sights...

Growing up in the Catholic Church, this image of Jesus is a familiar sight. But especially this particular version because it is from Notre Dame's Sacred Heart Basilica where my family often went to mass.  I have been thinking about what it would be like to go home to Jesus a lot lately, and today it seems even more so appropriate.  My mom has been taking care of my grandpa, who has been slowly dying for the past few months as his body has been shutting down.  She called today and told me Grandpa keeps telling her that for the past few days he's been seeing a lady in white telling her to come with him. Honestly, he sleeps most of the day because his body is barely running and he is in such pain...so knowing nothing about death or how God intervenes as we die, I thought his visions was so interesting.  My grandpa is one of the sharpest, most intelligent, yet gentle and good men I have ever known. He is known to exaggerate, but not about serious matters like this.  He says he's been scared and hasn't wanted to go with the lady.  My mom said she told him it was ok and that God would take care of him.  

God works in such bizarre ways...that my grandpa would start seeing visions of what I presume to be angels...that my mother (not a Jesus-loving woman) would tell him that God will take care of him. Those things should never happen and do not make any sense...but wow...who else besides God could bring about such crazy things...

If you read this and feel like talking to Jesus, pray for my family.  My grandparents have been married for 58 years.  I can't imagine what it would be like to lose your husband after that long...my Grandma's name is Joanne.  And it has been so hard on my mother (Ruth), the only daughter of the family. But I feel like Jesus is showing up for us all as the Jesus in the picture above - one with arms open, loving, accepting us amidst all our sin and such great pain...maybe a little less gold though :)