Unasked for Graces

I realized that I have been spending a bit of time thinking about bad days and cabin fever so I started to ponder what would make a good day. Well, if it was up to me it would look something like this: I get up on time and actually feel rested, the kids get up and are ready for school on time, we actually accomplish some schoolwork without any tears, we have something that most of us like for lunch, we accomplish some needed chores in the afternoon, dinner gets done on time, the rosary is not a brawling match, the kids go to bed somewhat peacefully and I am not totally exhausted by 8:30. Sounds good, doesn't it? It was at this point when the lightbulb went on. I was looking at all this from the wrong perspective. Now, from God's point of view, a good day for me might look like the following: I get up tired, the toddler is crabby because he has a cold, we get our schoolwork done but not without a lot of grumbling, there isn't much to choose from for lunch, we discover that most of our hens have been eaten by some larger animal, our income taxes haven't been filed yet and the rosary is less than prayerful. However the thing that would make this a good day for me in God's eyes is that I managed to keep my cool throughout the whole day and accept everything He sends me with a peaceful countenance. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen as often as it should.

About a month or so ago, we went to hear Ivan, one of the visionaries from Medjugore, speak at a local parish. It was a beautiful mass and he gave an interesting talk. He mentioned something that I had never heard before, and it is something I have been trying to remember to do so that maybe I can increase the odds of responding with a peaceful countenance. He said that the Blessed Virgin told him that there are many graces that are to be given to people throughout the day to help them but that they neglect to ask for them. He suggested that we remember to ask for all of the graces that we had forgotten to ask for during that day and they will be given to us. Furthermore, he said we should ask that all of the other unasked for graces in the world be poured out all over mankind. I know that Medjugore is not an approved apparition and of course I stand by the final decision of the church. That having been said, it stands to reason that we do, indeed, pass up opportunities for grace throughout the day and isn't cool to think that we can still receive these graces from our Loving Mother and our Merciful Lord, even if we ask after the fact?

God Bless!