Faith Noodles

By Anthony Doerr, "All the light we cannot see" And one cold Tuesday in December, when Marie-Laure has been blind for over a year, her father walks her up rue Cuvier to the edge of the Jardin des Plantes. "Here, ma chérie, is the path we take every morning. Through the cedars up ahead is the Grand Gallery." "I know, Papa." He picks her up and spins her around three times. "Now," he says, "you're going to take us home." Her mouth drops open. "I want you to think of the model, Marie." "But I can't possibly!" "I'm one step behind you. I won't let anything happen. You have your cane. You know where you are." "I do not!" "You do." Exasperation. She cannot even say if the gardens are ahead or behind. "Calm yourself, Marie. One centimeter at a time." "I'm far, Papa. Six blocks, at least." "Six blocks is exactly right. U...

God wants us to be happy in Him, in nothing but Him. For whatever a man trusts in, from that He expects happiness. He who is the ground of our faith Should be the substance of our joy. So Daddy, Whatever comes my way, whatever internship I get, whether I pass my practical exam next year, however the neuropsychology course today turns out to be even though I am going on my own, how much progress I make with my thesis given however hard I try (by Your strength!), wherever You want me to be.. I want to keep being happy in You. What a privilege it is to rejoice in You.. that You require it of me for all the grace and mercy You have shown me. Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my s...

I am a happy girl. I am a very happy girl. I am a very very happy girl. I am an extraordinarily happy girl. :) Over the past month, I've just had so much fun teaching social skills to a group of kids with social and attention difficulties. Today was my second to last session with them. Man, am I gonna miss it. I have been soooooo busy for the past 1, 2, 3, 4 years that I stopped a lot of my extra voluntary activities with kids at church or at the hospital. I have forgotten how much I enjoy working with kids! This was a compulsory part of my course. I just feel like it's a huge privilege to be able to do this. I think I enjoy working with kids more than the elderly and adults. I don't mind the latter two, but I think I love love love working with children more. My creative juices flow a lot more, my tenacity sharpens when faced with a difficult child, and joy just bubbles up. My leisure reading since I began placement consists of parenting articles, effective ...