Healthy Lungs

Happy All Saints’ Day! Today we welcomed a new little one into the Church at Mass – a perfect day for a Baptism, really.

There were quite a few visiting families with their own kiddos as well. Naturally, harried parents were frequently rushing to take a fussy baby or crying tot outside, trying with all their might to be invisible. As a result, the incredibly compassionate priest’s words at the homily were probably exactly what they needed to hear.

He said, “It’s good to hear so many children making noise. It’s so good to hear them fussing. I work at a children’s hospital, where the kids are usually too sick to even be able to cry. What a nice change to be around children with such healthy lungs.”

As he lifted the weight off these awesome parents’ overburdened shoulders, everyone suddenly grew a little taller and a little brighter.

As we begin a new month, I start out thankful for the gift of perspective. It’s so easy to take daily life – health, shelter, food, people – for granted. A regular dose of perspective reminds us of how much we really have in the first place, of how quickly it can be taken away, and how especially grateful we should be for blessings in disguise.