😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace and presence be with you. Saturday morning Brian told me he wanted to get out of the house and take a ride. It was a beautiful sunny, but cold day, so a drive would be perfect. I grabbed a couple maps of the surrounding states and we headed out to run an errand before we hit the road. We figured at some point in the day, we would stop for a meal, so we decided to plan our drive around whatever restaurant we chose. After tossing around multiple restaurants, we decided on an old family favorite, the Greyhound Tavern in Fort Mitchell, KY, affectionately known in our family as The Grill. Brian then suggested that we first take a drive to my Grandma and Grandpa Huhn’s old farm in Warsaw, Ky. I hadn’t been to the farm since 1984 and they sold it in the late 1980’s. Alright, we had a destination and meal in mind, so off we went. When we arrived at the farm, it was quite different. I stopped at the end of the driveway to look around. The current owner came out of the house and started walking across the yard to see if we were okay. We did introductions and I explained that my grandparents used to live there. Some of the old out buildings, a barn and the three-hole outhouse were no longer there. She did invite us into the barn that was still standing. Wow, did that take me back. I was right back there with Grandpa feeding the cows, going on a hay wagon ride, riding bikes down the road, sledding down the back hill, and making mud pies with the rotten vegetables from the garden. It certainly put a huge smile on my face. I was so thankful the owner came to check on us and invited us into the barn.
We then headed to The Grill, which was one of my Grandpa Lohre’s hangouts in his younger days. Our meals were so good. If you ever find yourself in Fort Mitchell, KY, you need to have a meal at the Greyhound Tavern. After finishing our meal, we decided to continue our “remember when” journey by driving by my Grandma and Grandpa’s Lohre’s old house in Villa Hills, Ky. Brian had never been to my Aunt Barb and Uncle Mick’s home, so we were doing a drive by when I saw my cousin Brian walk out the door. We stopped and visited with Brian, his wife and girls, my cousin Barb, and my aunt and uncle. After a short visit, Uncle Mick, Brian and I headed to Mass. That was the first time I’d been to Mass at St. Joseph’s since by Grandpa’s funeral 23 years ago. That memory brought some tears with it. While at Mass we ran into another one of my cousins, Kathie and her husband. After Mass, Brian and I drove by the Villa Hills Civic Center, known to us as the Lodge, which was another of my Grandpa Lohre’s hangouts. It actually burnt down last Thursday. Mom told me that wood from their old farmhouse was used to build the Lodge. I have to say, when I woke up Saturday, my plan was to stay inside, out of the cold, and work on laundry and other inside chores. I wouldn’t have imagined it would’ve turned out the way it did.
On our drive home I was playing the events of the day back in my head, which lead me to thinking about and playing “remember when” with God. Have you done that lately? Have you looked back on how your relationship with God has grown? We all have our own experience that can have very deep meaning for us and when spoken to others, may not seem like much to them, but those moments helped to bring us to where we are today. One of those turning points in my life was shortly after my divorce was finalized and I had no idea how I would be able to take care of my three young daughters. I was at the Saturday evening Mass, on my knees praying after Communion. At that time, I was wearing my wedding rings on my right hand. When I opened my eyes, the entire image of the St. Jerome stained glass window was clear as day, larger than life, and with incredible detail, on the surface of my ¼ carat diamond. I thought…No way, I’m just imagining this. I looked up at the evening sun shining through the window to my right…it was St. Jerome. I looked back down at my ring, the image of St. Jerome was still there. God told me in that moment, “If I can do this, I can take care of you and your girls.” By the way, my Grandpa Lohre’s name was Jerome. I absolutely love how God chooses to show up in my life. Over this next week, I hope you allow God the opportunity to play remember when with you.
Bless others and be blessed.
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#StJosephCatholicChurch – Crescent Springs, Ky
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Third Day Devotions 