“One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

In reviewing the Scripture readings for today, the Responsorial Psalm caught my eye because of the transitions that are going on in my life now.  Here are some of my thoughts:

At this point in my family’s life, my dad – who is 97 years old and has Alzheimer’s disease as well as other complications – needs to go on Medicaid in about 10 days.  We never thought this would happen to us – a middle class family in the Midwest who has always saved money so that we could financially take care of ourselves. 

The belief of my first generation parents – from Denmark and northern Italy – was that if we worked hard and saved money by denying ourselves vacations, etc., that we would always be able to take care of ourselves financially and not be dependent on others.  That belief is now being challenged.  We are going to need government financial assistance – Medicaid -- to help take care of food, housing, and medical care for my father.

So what does this have to do with the words I’ve chosen from the readings today:  “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”?

From my earliest memories, I remember my mother and father saying about some situations in life: “This isn’t what we want to happen, but for some reason we need “to live through this;” “accept this situation;”  “make these decisions, etc.”  “We have done everything we can to make things turn out the way we think they should, but it’s not going that way.”

We believe that God speaks to us through other persons and situations.  We believe that God lets us know what we are to do – once we have formed our consciences as to what is the best thing to do.  As my husband says, “No one gets up in the morning and says:  ‘Today I am going to make the worst decisions I can.  Everyone does the best he/she can.  Sometimes it works out the way we want it to, and sometimes it doesn’t.’”

Thus, for my family and the situation we find ourselves in now (Dad going on Medicaid) must be what God wants to happen now.  It’s another lesson in learning that one has only “some” power and control over situations in life.  In other words, if we can’t change the situation, we need to change our way of looking at it….We need to see what God is telling us…and respond faithfully in our lives. 

Please, God, help us grow in faith.  Help all of us learn to do the best we can and  live our lives faithfully – All For the Greater Honor and Glory of God.