My Heart of the Matter

Guardian Angels

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My sister Jo’s son Torie with his daughter and wife Stacie, they also have twin sons.

336 From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.202 “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.”203 Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.  Catechism of the Catholic Church

I never paid attention to any close calls as a child, so as an adult I came to the realization that I was protected by my guardian angel. The most recent incident occurred as I was making a left-hand turn on to a busy intersection. For some unusual reason I thought that the car to the right had a stop sign, but it did not.  As I started the left-hand turn, the car to my right was driving straight ahead. In a nanosecond we both made it through without any type of accident, when it should have been a major collision.

No brakes, no crash, just a smooth passage. It was as if something supernatural had occurred. Making eye contact with the driver and his female passenger, we were in a state of shock. No ugly words were exchanged, no nasty hand gestures,  just a look of unbelievable gratitude as we passed by each other. Admittedly if there had been a collision, it would have definitely been my fault. In disbelief I thanked my guardian angel for his protection.

A few summers ago Mike and I attended  an Angel’s game. Our seats were located on right field. This is the area where many spectators come with baseball gloves to catch foul balls. Mike was a little too apprehensive and kept warning me to pay attention to the game. But instead of paying attention to the game I was looking through my phone and started to delete photos. In spite of Mike’s warning, I continued deleting photos. Anyway, if a ball came my way there were plenty of people around us with gloves to catch it.

I remembered we had two extra tickets. We offered them to Sonja and Russ but they are a party of four. So instead the tickets were given to Russ’ friend and his son.

Well, that which Mike feared most came to pass. A hard-hit foul ball came directly at me. There was no warning, and because I turned away at the last second, it missed my face but I did feel the force of the ball pass through my hair as it rushed past me. For a moment those around me thought for sure I was hit in the face; instead the ball landed near the young son of Russ’ friend.

My guardian angel at Angel Stadium had saved my life again.

About ten years ago, Leslie, a friend of mine, and I were handing out lunches on Skid Row in Los Angeles. As we were putting the lunches into the carts, a couple directly across from us were having a heated argument. I told Leslie to look the other way because you never know how these altercations are going to end. The couple’s fight escalated so they got out of the car.  The man was really upset and threw something that resembled a spear at the woman. I was facing the cart and adjusting the lunches when suddenly the spear passed right in front of Leslie’s face. Needless to say, this shook her up. Leslie’s guardian angel came between her face and the spear.

Living in Southern California, you cannot avoid driving on the freeways. Leslie does not drive on the freeways due to a traumatic experience; fear set in and she feels safer driving on surface  streets.  We were on the 91 Freeway on the way home from Skid Row, when suddenly a car hit the retaining wall and was heading straight toward us. Leslie was preparing her body for an impact, while I prayed. Lifting my hand toward the impending collision I said, “In the Name of Jesus!” As if someone took over the wheel of the driver of the other vehicle, it was instantaneously moved to another direction. Again our guardian angels intervened.

 

Rosary ring

Darren’s Guardian Angel

With each missionary trip I would bring back so many religious souvenirs. I would load up my friends and family with blessed medallions, rosaries and holy cards. I had given my friend a rosary ring to give to her son Darren. Darren’s family had moved from the Los Angeles area, but his roots were in a suburb of Los Angeles. He and a group of friends started a car club there. They were flashy, and rode around in their ostentatious vehicles like they owned the streets. The other car clubs struggled with their arrogance and wanted to show them who was boss in the Los Angeles car clubs.

One evening Darren and his girlfriend Susan stopped for gas. From his rear view mirror, Darren noticed a Lexus filled with big, scary guys from a rival car club. Darren got out of the car to gas up when he noticed the driver pull out a gun. He quickly got back into his vehicle and a car chase ensued.

Darren did not want to scare Susan but he knew they were in trouble. He mistakenly pulled into a dead-end street. With the gangsters slowly creeping behind them, Darren instructed Susan to jump out of the car. Then he remembered the rosary ring in his pocket.  He grabbed it as he and Susan started to run toward a 10-foot chain link fence leading to a riverbed.

He does not remember if he called the police or not. suddenly the police appeared out of nowhere. The Lexus with the gang bangers left the scene. Darren knew that he had indeed been saved by his prayers and his guardian angel. After this incident their car club dismantled. Darren was taught a life lesson on how not to flaunt his blessings.

Torie’s Angels

Our nephew Torie used to suffer from cluster headaches. This type of headache is so severe that they are referred to suicide headaches. He suffered from these headaches a couple of times a year. The frequency of these headaches lasted from three to four days a month. The duration of the pain lasted thirty minutes to an hour. There is no cure for these headaches  and, because they are not life-threatening, the medication offers little relief.

Once Torie was experiencing a cluster headache, he was so sick, vomiting and suffering from any movement. He was on the floor of the bathroom but due to the intensity of the pain, he could not get up.  Then something supernatural occurred. Torie said that he saw seven small angels. He felt his arms lifted as the angels picked him off the floor and helped him to his bed. Torie is 6’2″ and weighs 225 pounds. And he no longer suffers from these cluster headaches.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, nothing is impossible with You. You send angels to protect and guide us. May we be ever aware of our guardian angels and ask for their protection whenever we are in pain or experiencing fear. Thank You for all that You provide for us. May we be eternally grateful. Amen

 

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My Heart of the Matter

Fifty-Two Years of Marriage

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You would think that after 52 years of marriage we have figured out our discrepancies; but we are both stick-to-our-guns personalities, so that will never happen. Nevertheless, our arguments are quick and easily resolved.

Arguing In Our Sleep

Believe it or not, these arguments are frequent because of Prudie, our cat who’s crying  for water three or four times in the middle of the night. I wake up from a deep sleep to lift up the old girl onto the counter so she can drink water. This could take as long as five minutes. I’ve reverted to being the mother of a newborn baby by tending to the needs of my cat. Most of the time I can fall back asleep, but sometimes it’s nearly impossible.

Friday Night

Prudie and St. Francis
The nightmare I created

Prudie woke us up five times and Mike was really upset after the third time. Mike loudly announced, “I can’t take this anymore! I’m sleeping in the guest room!” I answered, “No, you can’t because I was cleaning our drawers and everything is still on the bed.”  Mike grabbed his pillow, fluffed it a bit and said, “You need to take care of that cat!” “What do you think I’m doing? I’m the one who gets up and makes sure the cat is getting her water.” “You’ve spoiled that cat and now she runs our life!” So instead of sleep walking, we are sleep arguing.

Prudie

I have mentioned in past Blogs about our 17-year-old cat Prudie. Our vet informed us that she is suffering from kidney failure. The vet also suggested that I bring Prudie in twice a week for saline infusions. It takes me over a half an hour to get her into the cat carrier, and the cost for infusions is $45 each. Even a trip to the vet is  a traumatic experience for this cat. So the next best thing was to purchase an electric water fountain. But Prudie was not buying it – she wants water from the faucet! If you are a cat owner, you know what a pain in the butt this is.

COVID  Purchasing

COVID changed our shopping habits, and I finally joined the online purchasing club. Even though I prefer the conventional method of shopping, I gave in to the masses. While the rest of the world is enjoying their online purchases, I end up returning almost everything.

On Saturday I received two packages. The purse pouches that I ordered for my new larger handbag were larger than the bag. I checked  the return policy, which stated that the merchandise had to be returned in the same package that it was delivered in.

Mike’s Cleaning Habits

Mike loves to clean up and throw things in the trash, so I distinctly remember telling  him not to throw away the boxes. There were two deliveries that same day, and both are going to be returned. After another sleepless night, I woke up and started calling for Mike. “Did you throw out the boxes from yesterday’s delivery?” “Yes, they’re in the trash, why?” “What do you mean why? I need to return the package in the same box!” I was heading out the back door half asleep when Mike stopped me. In a stern voice he said, “Really? Go back inside. I’ll get the box out of the trash.”  Poor Mike, I’d forgotten that I put this particular  box aside so that he would not think it was trash.

 

The Yeti

The Oversized Water Bottle

Our son Mikos gifted me a beautiful Yeti bottle. I love it and use it every day; however, that darn bottle does not fit into the cup holders of any of our cars. I force it into place, but every time I make a turn the heavy bottle hits me or the passenger. When Mike sees me coming with the bottle, he gets upset. First of all, he will never let me place it into the cup holder. He starts with, “Do you have to bring that big bottle, please grab a bottle of water instead.” “No, because I need to drink a lot of water, I’ll keep it by my feet.” I answer. That bottle, filled with iced water, becomes a weapon banging at my ankles; and it’s very noisy as it rolls around.

Arguing Over Street Vendors

First of all, I want to explain that I have made peace in my spirit about all street vendors. But before that it would really bother me that street vendors could sell tacos with meat. Why does it bother me so much? We owned a tortilla factory back in the day, and whenever the Food and Drug Administration would pay us a visit we were written up for trivial matters, like failing to empty a trash can, etc. But  are there regulations for street vendors? How does the FDA inspect these small entrepreneurs? How are they monitored?

Well, you guessed it.  Mike and I got into a huge argument over this. Mike started with “Did you forget where you came  from? They’re just trying to make a living.” Where I came from? The last time I checked, I was born in the United States of America!” I answered. “Don’t you remember all the hard times the FDA gave us for the smallest of infringements?” I added. Thank the good Lord, it was a short ride home. The argument quickly fizzled and we were fine.

How I Made Peace With the Street Vendors

I will purchase fruits and vegetables from a street vendor but never any meat because of sanitary reasons. I respect anyone who is trying to make a living,  especially in California, where it’s nearly impossible to get by.

The street vendors are hard-working and humble, in contrast to the shipload of homeless people who are either mental or drugged out of their minds. The vendors are making a meager living. God bless them for that.

Good Night and Good Morning

Both Mike and I know the dangers of letting the sun go down on our anger. We work very hard to resolve our differences before going to bed. It’s so important to start the day with peace in our hearts.

Dear Lord, I thank You for our wonderful, and at times flawed life. I would not have it any other way. You created us opposite to each other, and You always know what is right for us. I pray for all of our grandchildren, that they would meet the helpmates You have chosen for them and that they live long, happy lives. I pray that all married couples remain steadfast in their love for one another. Lord, protect all married couples, especially those who are contemplating a separation or divorce, I pray that God will heal their relationships. Amen.

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Feeding The Homeless

California’s Homeless Dilemma

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One block from when our grandson plays basketball tournaments

Early this week  Jacob, my grandson, and I had to go to Smart and Final to pick up raffle tickets. Although this grocery store is less than two miles from my home, I did not feel safe. The homeless, unhoused, displaced (or by any other name that they go by) have become a big concern in our city.

 

As I was making my turn onto Katella, I noticed from my peripheral vision a tall, thin, white man with matted hair using Katella Avenue to empty his bladder. In view of all the passing vehicles, this disoriented man was relieving himself. “Jacob, don’t look at that man!” I yelled. It was a disgusting sight.

Shopping Carts and Litter

Many retailers are missing shopping carts because the displaced help themselves to them. They place their belongings in them and conveniently go around town collecting other things. To the retailer this has become a financial burden that they pass on to their customers. To retrieve these carts would involve the police because who in their right mind would ever approach the homeless to take something that does not belong to them anyway?

There are not enough trash cans around to fill the garbage these poor people produce. By contrast, the displaced cause fires, property is destroyed and their unhealthy, bad behavior must be addressed.

The State of California

We have all seen the mess our state has made be creating many useless programs costing billions of dollars to solve this dilemma. Nothing seems to work and we have been affected by this complicated crisis. Although politicians use the problems of the homeless as a platform to gain the trust of their constituents, when they are voted into office, the homeless crisis  is always put on the back burner.

My Simple Idea

Stop allocating money for climate change and for  those who are illegally crossing our borders. Take the billions that our states gave to Planned Parenthood to support abortions and open mental hospitals. We need to clean our streets of human beings who are suffering and have no place to go. One in four of the homeless suffer from metal illness, and in California we have an estimate of over 171,000 homeless people on the streets.

Churches need to get involved by offering free counseling and by visiting and sharing the love of God. I would much rather visit a them in a hospital than confront them on the street.

How our tax dollars are spent in California:   This Information is  from California Environmental Voters.

With prompting from EnviroVoters, locally-funded partners, and the broader environmental community, we secured:

  • $45 million for offshore wind through the California Energy Commission
  • $150 million for community resilience centers
  • $225 million for clean energy transmission projects in the Climate Catalyst Fund
  • $61.7 million for ocean protection and carbon sequestration
  • An increase in $75 million for extreme heat planning and support
  • $1 billion to ensure that we’re spending to build green infrastructure that will allow us to move away from dirty gas and diesel plants in times of energy scarcity, through SB 849 for the Clean Energy Reliability Investment Plan.

Of course this does not include the billions of dollars to expand access to abortions and the over 31 billion dollars to provide for illegal immigrants

The team: Robert, Leah, me Jane,Gary and a sweet homeless man
Veronica, me, Robert, Mary and a group of lovely homeless people

The Homeless Ministry

For 20 years I was in charge of serving the homeless on Skid Row in Los Angeles.  I loved serving these people and made many friends. It was a different time; this was before COVID. We as a team felt comfortable and welcomed on the streets.  In the beginning we had a large team helping us with this ministry. As the years passed it dwindled to sometimes just three or four of us. In spite of this, I was never afraid because I felt that God was protecting us. I believe that the main reason our ministry was successful was because we respected the homeless. We not only gave them food to eat but we fed them manna from heaven. We watched our backs, and many times different homeless people would join us in handing out the lunches. They also protected us.

I trained the new team members on how to gently handle the homeless. It takes a special gift of empathy to understand that this is the lowest place a human being can be. God closed our eyes to the filth and the smells of the streets so that we could minister. Sixteen years ago our team experienced the worse of all incidents on Skid Row.

Bottom photo: Precious homeless man, me, John, Ruth, Lauren, Carmelita and Robert

The Stabbing

The man’s name was Anthony, a well-groomed parolee, wearing a blue and white plaid shirt buttoned to his neck; I offered him a meal and he politely gestured yes. After a quick introduction, I asked if he wanted prayer. “Can I touch you?” I asked, and he agreed.

Skid Row is the Devil’s territory, so you pray with a watchful eye. As I placed my hands on his shoulders, I noticed a young man in a black hoody come so close to me that he touched my right arm. I thought to myself that this man has no reverence for the things of God, but I continued to pray for Anthony. Suddenly from my left side the hooded man pulled out a sizable knife. This knife was different; it had a curved edge with a fancy, carved gold handle like a Sinbad dagger. He started stabbing Anthony; this happened so quickly and was just inches from me. This was like an out-of-body experience for me. As if in slow motion I looked around at the 15 or so people who were witnessing this heinous crime; not one of them did a thing to help this poor man. Instead they turned and looked the other way; it was as if they somehow were in collusion with the stabber. I started to scream, “Leave him alone!” “Leave him alone!” This got the attention of the others on my team and they rushed over to help. I saw the knife moving in rapid secession and Anthony attempting to dodge the weapon. Again I screamed, “Leave him alone!” Finally the perpetrator fled. Anthony’s neck and face were flushed red and his shirt was shredded but not a drop of blood. Our team surrounded him to comfort him, but he was inconsolable. “You’re okay, you’re okay,” I kept reassuring him but he just continued to drop “F” bombs and said repeatedly that he got stabbed. I explained that he did not get injured because he had a shield of protection while he was being prayed for.

These occurrences are the norm on Skid Row. The police are unable to keep up with the crime and the street people do not get involved for fear of retribution. To this day I understand the role of a guardian angel because both Anthony and I were protected.

The Shock

We were all pretty shaken up from this mindless act of violence. I, like Anthony, was in a state of shock.  After leaving Skid Row, I had to swing by my son’s friend Jason’s home to pick up our granddaughter; Jason noticed the distressed look on my face.  I gave him a quick summary of what happened and instructed him not to tell my husband Mike for fear that he would not allow me to continue feeding the homeless on Skid Row.

At home I put all anxiety aside and the evening went as usual. Well…until we started watching the movie Hidalgo. There are many fighting scenes in this movie, but one in particular made me jump up from the couch and scream. There it was, the same Sinbad-curved knife almost exactly like the one on Skid Row! Mike looked over at me and asked, “What is the matter with you!” My reply: “Oh nothing.”  After several months I did share the incident with Mike, leaving out a few details.

My Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for the 20 years of serving Your people on the streets. Please open doors to help solve this growing problem. May we elect godly politicians who have a heart to help these hurting souls. Amen.

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