About the Spirit

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This blog started out with "about me" in the title. My whole life has been "about me". I hope that the entries that I make will be about the Spirit and how He has changed my life because it has always been about Him and how He works through us.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Long week

I don't know why I don't post more often but I do find it a good way to vent when things get to me and also it is a good way to share my feelings with those that I love.

I've been going around and around with the VA about possible kidney problems. I was told that they, my kidneys not the VA, have been producing protein above the normal level for the past three years and more tests were needed. Okay, so I get the tests done, not knowing if I had a problem but I was pretty concerned. I never heard anything back from the VA on the results. I was dragging for over a week not knowing if there was a problem and if there were, I didn't know if there was anything that could be done. Bummer!

Anyway, I started a new job at Caribou that same week and with a possible kidney problem and trying to get acclimated to a new job where I was the oldest by about forty years was...let's just say "disheartening".

Then something happened.

I went to the mall to a junior achievers mall project. I walked along the mall corridor as kids ran around me. They were divided between trying to sell their product, which they made themselves, or visiting their friends and goofing off during their rare visit to the mall. I saw Alaina sitting at her table taking her role as artist and entrepreneur very seriously. I looked toward the taco stand and saw her two brothers goofing off as they waited on their pizza. I walked toward them on "monster" legs. As I neared Sawyer, he started to scream and I mean scream: "No, grandpa no"! You know, I'm proud of my Swanson family. Everything they do, they do it together and I think that's wonderful. I turned back to Alaina and she tied a friendship bracelet around my right wrist. I, being the cop that I am, did a little investigating. I walked over to Sawyer and Jonnie and checked their right wrists. There were so many friendship bracelets around their wrists that I wondered how they got their arm washed. Did a little more investigating...their mom had just as many! I walked back to Alaina just as Grandma was getting her bracelet around her wrist. Boy am I in good company!

My long ordeal started on Thursday. I went to work as usual at 5 am and got off at around 11. Bible study started at 1 so it was a quick trip home to eat lunch then it was Mom and I back to Willmar. We also had a long Social Concerns meeting at St. Pat's and didn't get out of there until 9:30. Then it was up at 4 to start all over again. I was bushed! After work I went to Church and had to decide if I was going to the jail Ministry. I could have come up with many legitimate excuses on why I couldn't go, but as I was sitting in Church I looked down at my wrist and saw my Love bracelet. That's when I realized that my decision had already been made for me and I feeling fully energized headed for the jail.

These pass several months has been very discouraging for our Ministry because we've only got maybe one or two inmates come and the Parish Priests were thinking of discontinuing it. I had seven inmates attend this Friday and it was wonderful! It was very heart warming. I had one of the inmates burst out in tears and thanked me for coming. Several of the males actually told me that they missed me! They said that they were afraid that I wasn't coming back and then I met a jail poet he's going to put his poems on paper and I'll post them. He recited several of his poems and I was thanking God for giving the energy to be there...and then I looked down at my bracelet...and thanked Him...and thanked Him...and thanked Him...