Memories

Today I came across a website that featured the first church I attended with my family as a little girl. Picture featured in this post. The church is Saint Hedwig’s Catholic Church located in the Bucktown area of Chicago. It's stunningly gorgeous and it takes my breath away. 

I still remember how beautiful and ornate it was. I also remember feeling like we were on holy ground every time we walked into that church.  

This church was founded in the late 1800's to serve Polish families who lived in the immediate area. Today the weekend schedule includes three English masses, one in Spanish and the other in Polish serving a diverse population of parishioners from city dwellers to suburbanites.

My first memories of attending mass on the weekends included attending with my parents, my older brother, my younger sister Alicia and my paternal grandparents. I think I was five or six years old. I can still remember my mother and grandmother donning black lace veils over their heads, wearing beautiful dresses and the smell of their perfume. They always wore the prettiest dresses and I remember my father and grandfather looking dapper in dark colored suits. I also remember how lovely my grandmother smelled, something about her facial cream smelled so beautiful every time she kissed me. Additionally, I remember the smell of my mothers fragrant Revlon lipstick. For many years when I was a young adult, I use to buy Revlon lipsticks only because they reminded me of my mother and of really happy times when I was a little girl. About a decade ago, Revlon changed the composition of their lipsticks, and sadly they no longer have the scent that I remember from long ago. 

It’s interesting how a picture can bring back so many memories. This picture of Saint Hedwig's Catholic Church evokes lovely memories of times gone by, a happy time, filled with love, sunny Sunday's, God, and the gift of family. And for that and so much more, I am thankful.

Until next time, blessings to you and yours.

xx, Ruthie

Life Lessons

Sometimes the most significant lessons in life take almost a lifetime to learn. This I know because half of my life is behind me now and I'm still learning. I'm still learning big and small lessons. And this is what I know for sure and I think you know this too: "we mustn't let our age or the length of time it takes to learn to discourage us." I've always believed that life is about love but it's also about learning and growing, and evolving, a journey filled with discovery and becoming every bit of the person God created us to be. It's a process, a life-long process, not a destination. Sometimes we have to remember and remind ourselves that God doesn't expect perfection. He never has. Did you know that? And He doesn't get hung up on our mistakes or our imperfections, big or small. He knows that we are perfectly imperfect and He loves us anyway. He loves us for exactly who we are. His love for us is like no other and it is truly the greatest love story your heart will ever experience. Some of us, including me sometimes need to remember that forgiving ourselves is necessary work and just as important as the grace God extends to us. Beloved, as long as we have breath in us, the teaching goes on and the lessons are learned. So never stop learning. Never stop growing. Be you. Be-YOU-ti-ful.

Love and more love to you, 

xx, Ruthie

P.S. God's love for you never changes. Never. It's vast and lovely, extraordinary and amazing. What I know for you sure: He will never finish loving you. May His love draw you near today.

If we had coffee today I’d tell you: Failure is not determined by what you lost.

Failure is not determined by what you lost. When you lose, its an opportunity to keep on keeping on, to push through, to set your eyes on the prize. Be wise. Aim high. Nothing is impossible when you align your desires with Gods desire for you. Absolutely nothing.