Have you ever looked for a needle in a haystack?  It seems impossible!  Yet we do it all the time.  Do we find it?

We search for the "light at the end of the tunnel" for our friend who just lost their job.  We look for the "silver lining" following the news of a devastating earthquake.  We hope for a "miracle" after hearing that our neighbor has a serious illness.

"'Come,' says my heart, 'seek his face'; your face, LORD, do I seek!" - Psalm 27:8

We encounter the face of God in every person we meet.  Sometimes it seems like looking for a needle in a haystack.  Do we find it?

It is September and there is less than a week left in Summer.  Amid a mass of eleven rose bushes, the sun reflected a certain way such that my eye caught the petals of a single red rose.  Hanging on.  Refusing to let go.  Blooming for just one more time.

Seasons come and go.  The flowers of Summer give way to the majestic leaves of Fall.  In much the same way, seasons of our life come and go.  We resist letting go of the familiar and venturing into the unfamiliar.  Doors close and new ones open if we "let go and let God".  Job loss challenges us to find new opportunities.  High school graduation propels us into college experiences.  Heartache leads us to joyful hope.

"... forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead" - Philippians 3:13

It is time to let go ... let us be led by God into a new season of growth.

Two birds squawking at each other.  Twisted faces and glaring sneers.  Like them, do we quibble over matters important to us today, but not even remembered tomorrow?  Angry words and fatal blows do not make for peaceful neighbors.

As Pope Francis stated on 27 July 2016 (EWTN News/CNA), the world is at war because "it has lost peace."

Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

The chipmunks are eating our cherry tomatoes!  We could be mad.  We could be sad.  The fruits of our labor have been stolen from us as we reluctantly share our bounty with those who share our yard.

Or we could see this as a reminder to share our bounty with the poor, the weak, and those most in need.  Feeding the hungry is a corporal work of mercy that is accentuated during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Let us be reminded to share our bounty.  Let the hungry be fed.

"For I was hungry and you gave me food ..." - Matthew 25:35