Hopeful

Those that know me, also know i that i love the way we sometimes are given messages that seemingly can seem coincidental,today i would like to share with one that made me smile.

i was treating a client today and afterwards had another mobile treatment and so i gave the client a lift back to there home as it was on my route.

As we spoke on the short journey back i was speaking of the future and how it would work out and as i said words to that effect i looked to my left and saw written on the back of someones car in white paint as big as the whole back of the car the words "hopeful"

Made us both smile,now you may say,coincidence,but i have never seen that written on the back of a car before in paint, grafitti, yes, "hopeful"...no

Our medicine come to us in ways we relate to, the term,when the student is ready,applies to all area's of our life

The next man i was going to treat was a man i met some 6 years ago when i worked in a hospice,and we have stayed in touch.He was a patient there and now in his 80s still going strong.

He had retired from his work when i met him, he owned many garages and petrol stations.He told me many years ago that he came out of the army with just his gratuity pay and from there him and his mate set up a little buisness fixing cars.
I say buisness, i mean they had an alley way and began there.

they built it up by repeat buisness, the trouble was his mate was a bit of drinker and unreliable and he thought i'll never get ahead like this.One day his mate was drunk and borrowed a car and he thought that enough i need to go alone.

He began to look around week after week without any success as the money they wanted was just to much,he could never afford it.One night after another unsuccessful recki he was comming down the bristol road and his car started to chug along then stopped.

He pulled over to the side,sat there demoralised,thinking i've had enough,forget it.
Then when he raised his head off his steering wheel,he looked to the left and saw an old run down garage, he walked over and went inside.

Looking around,he had the thought,this is the kind of place i could do up,and then a man came out on the reception and said "Can i help you squire"

"Yes" said my friend "I want to buy your garage"

The man said, "I am looking to sell i have had enough"

To cut a long story short,he did buy the garage and began there,the point of sharing this with you,is the simlarity in life.

Sometimes we break down in life and yet this can just the beginning of a new venture,the opening of something new,in fact to be honest i have never met anyone of any substance who hadn't broken down in life in some form either emotionally or physically.

It builds character,depth,ternacity,and usually puts the person in the direction that they should follow.

Sometimes,in fact most times we never see it when were in the midst of the mire,and so i see my job as someone who gets in the mire with another and says lets find a way out,and as we do so,we will find hope,such a powerful thing to hold onto isn't it.

I acknowledge also that the message was for me,as i am venturing out on my own with a new base to work from,and so i thank the painter whoever he/she/they are and i like you hold onto the message of hopeful......

See ya later
Stuart

An amazing thing happened today

An amazing little thing happened today at St Josephs were i go to on a Tuesday morning to teach a little exercise class and treat some of the residents.

Just as were about to begin,a new lady came in, she was 93 years of age,she said i don't know why i have come along, to which i replied
"Welcome to to the poetry class"
my sense of humour is not every ones liking.

We began our little exercise class and she soon realised poetry was not on the agenda,but she took to it and eased gently along.

I began to tell the little group about my new found relic i had sent off for,when the new lady,said she was a follower of Padre Pia and often prayed to him,only she had felt depressed since she had been new to the home and unsettled.

To which another one the ladies said that she had a relic form his robe, just to let you know Padre Pia was the first stigmatized priest in the history of Church.

Anyway,the new lady was captivated and lit up as she heard of a relic from his robe.

we finished the class and i decided to see if i could borrow the relic and give it to the new lady to help her with her depression. I managed to borrow it and proceeded to the new ladies room. I sat down and told her i have something for you,she held her hand out and i placed the relic,she was overjoyed and held it as she prayed.

It was fantastic to see that it meant so much to her, i said this will help you along and ease your depression.

Then what happened next was amazing,the door opened and another elderly lady walked in,holding a little photo and said to her, did you know Jean ?....to which the new lady replied yes, "she was my sister".

"yes" she said,i lived next to her in Ireland and she was my best friend i heard that you were here and i have come to see you,if there is anything you want from this day on, i will get it for you.I hope that from this day on we will be great friends.

Then she showed the photo of her sister to her and her face lit up,like two long lost sisters meeting for the first time,it was amazing.

I said to her, that's amazing i have just given her this relic of Padre Pio, to which she lit up and said that she had one also and was a devotee of his,and had prayed to him all her life for miracles..

I could not have made it up, they connected in a way that was quite beautiful.

I think i witnessed an act of God,an answer to her prayer that was played out with me passing on a relic of a saint and then the coming together of synchronises that were amazing.

I knew that she would be lifted and had discovered a new friend,it was the timing as much as anything, reminded me of a saying i love "Coincidence is Gods way of remaining anonymous"

Made me smile.