Our Holy Chaos

This article is part of a series on finding peace in everyday chaos. It may be better to start from the beginning . Supper was on the table and we were just sitting down as a family when I got a text message that stopped me cold. “Will you be here soon?” I froze in disbelief and then sprang into panicked activity. In five minutes a pair of priests, a deacon, a consecrated virgin, and a Benedictine sister were sitting on a panel to discuss vocations with a big group of young people. Except the deacon was at home in flannel pajama pants about to eat a plate of tater tot hotdish. Though the moderator, other panelists, and the audience were very charitable when I walked in twenty minutes late, peace in my heart took a long time to restore. I didn’t lose peace because of unrealistic expectations , a deep habit of vice , trying to be the Lone Ranger , or chasing a false reality . I had looked forward to participating on the panel and it was a great application of my vocations. How did I mana...

This article is part of a series on finding peace in everyday chaos. It may be better to  start from the beginning . My new prayer routine was going to be great! In addition to my usual time in the morning before the kids got up I was going to spend a holy half-hour in contemplative silence after supper. What a great way to spend my evening. Then a kid started practicing piano. Not a problem! There were plenty of other places in our house. I didn’t need to pray in the family room. “Dad, I can’t figure out this math problem!” “Anybody want to play basketball in the driveway?” “Hey, where’s dad?” After ten minutes of agitated prayer, the Lord took pity on me and asked the question I needed to hear: “Do you want to be a monk or the father of your family?” Embarrassed, I made the sign of the cross and abandoned my pursuit of solitude. In this series , we’ve set the groundwork for finding peace and now it’s time to start taking external action. It’s time to face our reality, make any ne...

    My counterpart, Brooke as I call him, published this blog recently: http://www.ourholychaos.com/2023/11/finding-peace-in-chaos-building-your.html   It was regarding building your team.  It is about not trying to be your own hero!  Since I read Brooke's blog I've been thinking a lot about my own team.  As a mom of five children, many whom have special needs and considerations I have learned to build quite the team of support.     First and foremost I have my bestie!  This is my best friend of all friends.  She is the person who knows what I am thinking before I even say it.  She is also a mother of two special needs children and knows how it feels to be spread a bit too thin.  Often times I do not have time to build outside friendships because I am busy running to therapy appointments or helping my children with homework.  However, she gets me!  She knows we won't talk every day, but we trust that we are pra...