Unexpected Graces

Yesterday was one of those days that I found myself saying, "Well, you just never know!" The best affirmations of one's ministry are those that come unexpectedly, and yesterday I had two. I was minister of the cup at Mass and afterward another attendee at the conference came up to me and thanked me for my reflections that I write in Living Faith. He saw my name tag as he came up for Communion and recognized my name! It was a nice surprise.

Then, later last night I received an e-mail from a friend. Turns out that his brother-in-law was one of participants in the young adult retreat I worked on a couple of weeks ago. My friend was writing to thank me for the time I had spent with his brother-in-law. It was one of those unexpected moments in the retreat in which, because things hadn't gone exactly as planned, we had an opportunity for one-on-one prayer and spiritual conversation. Apparently, it made enough of an impression that he'd shared it with his sister and brother-in-law, not knowing we were friends. What are the odds? . . .

These are such nice reminders that God does manage to work through me, even if I don't always know it or recognize it. It also causes me to wonder at all the people my work may have touched without me ever knowing it! There's something very beautiful in that not-knowing!