"A walk with God makes all the difference in the world"

I don't know, I don't pretend to have all the answers. I recently had a conversation with a friend about friendships. Our conversation started out about friendship, and then switched to faith. My faith was revealed to me during my trip abroad, so many years ago. That incredible journey taught me more than I could ever imagine. Once I was there, I realized how I took for granted going to church every week with my family. It wasn't until I was away that I realized the potential for my faith and myself. No matter where I was, I could always count on my faith to make me feel at home, regardless the language. This is where my friend said the title of my blog entry "A walk with God makes all the difference in the world." I believe my journey abroad was my walk with God. He carried me through those many experiences, allowing me to see so many new things. I once went to mass and brought 10 people with me, one was even a Muslim. Only three of us were catholic. They came because I was going and because we were going to hang out after. It was neat.The mass was in Italian, so only my Italian friend understood everything, but I knew what was going on. I learned so much, there aren't enough blog entries to write it all. It changed me forever and is something I will never forget. This somehow led me to bringing many different people together. It's just become a habit. I don't even realize it until it's happened. I think I truly didn't recognize this habit until I came here to Michigan. Bringing people together brings me joy. I hope it is something I can pass on to my children. Lead my example. I hope they see their potential in themselves and others. My worry is failure with this example. I think of this after I've been frustrated with them. It's so hard to be patient all of the time. I feel like I'm forever negotiating every part of the day. My only answer is prayer. Do the best I can and pray. If I pray, they will learn to pray. Tonight Eight shared with me the thing he prays for each week during mass. "I pray for Dad to have more days off." Nearly broke my heart. That boy needs his dad, they all do. Family life can be tough enough, let alone this bazaar schedule we deal with. This is why summer is such an important part of our family life, we get to be together on N's weekend. We're ending a two week vacation time. It was great to be together. We made the most of it. No camping trips, but we had a few day trips hear and there. Everyone loves the beach. Back to reality, we'll head to MN in a month and be together for many days again. Tonight, I'm grateful for a wonderful two weeks. There's so much more to look forward to during these summer months.