Saint Jude

Gentle Reader: Many of you know that I have had "challenges" with my current job. In particular, my boss and I do not always play nice together. It's a little bit her, it's a little bit me as the song goes...It's been known to get REALLY ugly. To add to my stress levels, the neighbors in the house next door are extreme partiers and loud even when they are not having a party. I go home from work to find peace and little can be found.

I have a regular devotion to St. Jude where I complain to him in general about my latest whining drama. Recently, however, one of my Confessors said: "You should pray for healing between your boss and you and your neighbors and you" I started doing that during prayers to the Saint asking for his kind intercession in these matters.

For a month now, my boss has been, shockingly, nice to me. To the point, where I've felt like asking her if she is terminally ill. LOL! You know me. In reponse, I've been decent to her and we've been getting along pretty well. So well, that I have not done any job hunting for several weeks now. The spell of niceness has occurred before and it's usually followed by more ugliness. But, it's NEVER lasted this long.

Last Thursday, we had a big snow storm and I arrived home after a 2 1/2 hour white-knuckle commute thinking I'd have to snowblow my sidewalk and driveway. To my astonishment, my sidewalk was already done. My "bad" neighbors had done it. I could tell by the track. I make a huge point out of stopping exactly at the end of my property and turning around so as to not do ANY of theirs as a sign of my disdain for them. But, I've been known to do my neighbors on the other side as a favor. For all my talk of being a good Christian, here people who claim to be personally spiritual but attend no organized denominational church, displayed a greater grasp of the third theological virtue than I do. I was deeply ashamed.

I had my chance to "pay it forward" on Saturday when one of their dogs got out of their yard. I saw him running around and it was a cold day. I called to him. He came and I noticed he'd been hurt. I cleaned his wound and wrapped him in a warm blanket and carried him next door. The neighbors thanked me and I was able to thank them for clearing my sidewalk. We may not be inviting each other over for dinner; and maybe things will never be totally fantastic; but olive branches were extended and received with gratitude and relief.

This weekend, I was pondering these reversals of fortune and it, suddenly, dawned on me that, if you thought Samuel was slow to hear the Lord, I'm even worse! It startled me to realize my prayers for healing had been answered!

Thank you St. Jude!