This past Memorial Day weekend we had the pleasure of entertaining five of our grandchildren, ranging from 2 to 9 years old. They arrived from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Texas and Washington D.C. These cousins get to see each other a few times a year, but this event is only for them, parents are excluded from what we call “Camp Fun.”

As we all know, working with really young children, dealing with accidents, sharing toys and gaining agreement on a movie can make high powered business negotiations seem like a walk in the park. It always amazes me to see how different they all are, and how much of their personality and traits are formed at this age, but also how adaptable they are.

After a few days they find themselves enjoying new foods they would “never ever eat,” changing their opinion about something they were previously scared and learning to laugh at themselves. One grandchild announced sadly on a Sunday morning that his cousin had “broken his feelings.” While the surrounded crew responded mainly with laughter at his choice of words, (Obviously was looking for “hurt my feelings”) he cried for a few moments and then burst into laughter himself as he realized he had said something which everyone found funny. Feelings mended apparently in a few seconds.

It is this ability to change and be flexible is always amazing in young people. A situation that was a crisis a few moments ago is now the best moment of the day, and some perfect knowledge to hang onto the next time they arise.

These weekends and weeks we spend with the grandchildren sans parents are wonderful learning and loving moments for all involved. We can relax some rules, enforce some new ones, and expose them to a different experience in the community of cousins. They love these days as we do.

God is so present in this tiny souls; it is great to see how fast they can be turned towards Him. How they oscillate between sympathy and conflict and back to reconciliation with each other. It is impossible to have a small group like this on “not speaking terms” for an extended period. Not just because of the problems caused, but the children want resolution, even if they do not have the tools to do it themselves.

There is so much of God’s love intermixed in this soup it is a joy to watch. How much more could we learn from our situations, as many families move through the pain of another holiday passed with separation from those we love.

Perhaps God, through these children, can show us the beauty of a simple love, forgiveness, and that dialog is the first place to begin a new beginning.

Listening with intention over supper

We are now entering the period in our liturgical calendar known as Ordinary time. As we leave the joy of the Eastertide behind us, we enter this new, and longest period of the year. Perhaps we can consider this a time for noticing. As we leave Pentecost in our rear view mirror (at least until Confirmation in the Fall), we could begin a new regime for ourselves.

One where we begin to notice the small things in our lives. Consider, if you will, the unnoticed. I often beat the drum of being aware of God, Seeing God in All Things and finding God in the Everyday. That is all well and good, but we cannot keep our sensitivity up in a heightened state of awareness on a 24/7 basis. After all, we have to relax, find peace, deal with the stuff of life.

So today I would ask you to consider a simple act; holding the hand of another person. This happens many times during a week or month. Welcoming others (often replaced by a hug if you know them well), first-time greetings, fellow congregants at Mass, during communal prayer … its a long list.

How often is that hand of friendship extended without much thought to the intention behind it? Did I mean it when I extended the sign of peace to those who are unknown to me? In communal prayer, was the prayer different because we were holding hands during recital?

Perhaps as we enter Ordinary time, we can look for some less ordinary moments in these ordinary connections. Imagine if we could not speak the welcoming words and the welcome had to be in the handshake alone. That a communal prayer for a friend who was ill is transmitted through all the bodies and souls connected by those held hands; and we consider the intention as a prayer occurs, not just going through the motions.

There is much to hold (beyond hands) in the ordinary, but it may be a great place to start. There are no boundaries to our interconnectedness, only our willingness and intention to invite and savor them. It is here where we move closer to God.

Through good and well-noticed intentions stirred by His love within us.