I can’t remember the first time I heard the Jesuit catchphrase “Finding God in All Things”, but I am pretty sure it was during or after college. I’m not sure anyone in my house growing up would have known a Jesuit from a jelly sandwich; I stumbled into Jesuit education (as an experience and later a profession) purely by chance. But despite not knowing any of the buzzwords, it seems obvious now that we were living that ethos.
My mom led the charge, always finding reason to celebrate. She never laid it on too think – a trip to the party store for streamers was out of the question- but she always pointed out the beautiful or exciting: “look at that sunset”, “let’s take a picture of how red these tomatoes are”, or “the odometer today was 123456!”
I don’t know why these gestures of joy still surprise me, but they do. Earlier this month I had a medical test, and was told that there was no sign of inflammation in my guts right now, which means that I am officially in remission from Crohn’s.
A few days later a card from my mom arrived in the mail. It was too early for Halloween, so I was perplexed. I opened it to find a congratulatory card for having a great colonoscopy.
I didn’t do anything to earn health, or to earn love or joy or the grace that she constantly points out. But we celebrate anyway, we celebrate the sheer gratuity of it, the marvelous blessings we trip over every day.
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