“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” Book of Revelation 5:5

I have, for the past weeks been dealing with breaking appliances. My dishwasher for one last week and then on Labor Day, my washing machine. Being that we don’t have that much money at this time to run out and buy new ones to replace them right away, I have been doing much of my daily chores by hand, in between taking care of the children, working my new job and keeping and staying in prayer. Its been a complete blessing in which I am very grateful to our Lord.

Today is my day off work and I spent the morning at the laundromat as rather than washing clothes by hand. As is typical for a trip to the laundry, most of the machines were broken and unless you got freshly printed paper currency, it was next to impossible to get change for the machines. As was the case.

I had tried to use a five dollar bill a few times in the change machine without any success. A man approached me and said “Let me use my 10 dollars and then I will give you the change you need.” It worked, praise God, and I was able to start my daily chores.

Something rang in my heart about how familiar this situation was. This man was there with his wife and I couldn’t help but smile at the both of them. I then realized what was printed on the shirt he was wearing. “Lion of Judah”. I was struck instantly in awe. There was nothing to wonder about. I just knew.

I remembered how our Lord had used His body in exchange for mine to overcome this world. I remembered all He had done for me to convert my heart, so tenderly and with so much tenacity. Just to keep me on His path. Our Lord has changed me so drastically in so many ways. I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

I couldn’t help but see our Lord in all these actions along with Mama Mary, silently carrying on in her work. You see, this mans wife didn’t say a word to me as she continued about her chores. I sat down as we all waited for the wash to be clean and thought about how our Lord had cleansed me with His most precious blood. All He had done for me. All He had allowed me to see on this journey back to Him.

I began to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. At that moment, another woman walked in to use the “change” machine and was also having difficulty’s. She began ranting about how nothing ever worked and started making a scene. I prayed a chaplet for her for peace and she walked over to where we were sitting to use another change machine. One in which was visibly empty. The light was blinking and I told her it wasn’t working. She didn’t like that very much. As she was walking away, I noticed her t-shirt and the words on it. My jaw dropped. It was a “SEIU” t-shirt. Nothing worked for her. She was unable to get the “change” she needed. She left the laundromat and went to a neighboring business to get change. This left me wondering… I don’t believe this is the place to discuss what was going through my mind. I prayed again for her, and all of us.

After tossing all the clean clothing into the dryers, I left for a few moments to head back home. I had been pondering attending Holy Mass but could not make it to the early mass this morning before this. As I got in my truck, the radio came on and a song called “get here” played and I knew I had to get home, change my clothes and get to the 12:05 Holy Mass. I just knew our Lord wanted me to be with Him. I ran back home, did what I needed to do and realized I needed to grab extra change for parking. I got back to the laundry, with a close parking spot and as I was getting out of my car, the man who offered me change, was coming out. He came to me and asked me if I had any change left as all he needed was one dollar. I reached into my pocket and handed him his change for a dollar, thinking how I needed to give our Lord 100% of my life and the glory and honor but also the gratitude in all I do, see and experience in this life and the next as it is not about me, but only Him.

After tossing all the clean clothing into baskets, looking up, I noticed a picture hanging up of St. Clare of Assisi. I got on the road to Holy Mass. It was spectacular. I don’t remember being this focused on Him in all other times of celebrating with Him. I continued in prayer on the way home and as I got out of my truck, I heard something I hadn’t heard in many years. It was a pet name my dad used to call me when I was in ballet classes at the age of five. In my heart as I got out of my truck, I heard “Hiya twinkle toes”. Out loud, I said “twinkle toes?” and laughed so hard remembering my dad calling me that name. Something I hadn’t heard since ballet class all those years ago. A smile came to my face, much bigger then the one I had all morning and I thanked our Lord.

Its been a glorious day! All praise and all thanksgiving be Yours Most High, Jesus Christ. I love you.

EDIT TO ADD:
I didn’t know St. Clare of Assisi’s feast day was August 12th as well as August 11th until just now. August 12th was also my dad’s birthday. He entered into eternal life on September 23 1996. It was his death, that lead to the beginning of my conversion back home to our Lord.