Sally Bolderson: Home

I don't know quite where to begin with this thought process, but it's something I feel compelled to say.

We all have our "public" lives and our "personal" lives. We are all vulnerable. I shared with a friend today some parts of my life that are very out of control. Specifically, they are my weight and my inability to do what I know is right for my well being. The second is my need to avoid confrontation and thereby not taking on the responsibility to confront my family about the needs of our household, which has left it in a terrible state to the point of being an unhealthy environment to live in.

I've tried to skirt around the issues in confession, but then I leave and do the same thing. So now, I'm like, "what's the point of going again if I can't even get it right when I leave?"

As I revealed some of these things to my friend, I realized that my music, which is an enormous grace in my life, is a blessing because I give it all to God!

So, I guess my hope is that by putting this in writing in a somewhat public venue, I can maybe take that step to do right by these crosses that keep me from giving my total self to Him. Please pray for me.

This past week our parish (Holy Trinity) held our annual Family Festival. It was a huge undertaking with rides and games and music and food and so much more. Pulling something like this together is a long, tedious and backbreaking task, but when you take a beautiful faith community and so many bring their parts of that body together to do their part, it becomes a labor of love.

The forecast all week was for substantial rain coming up from the south and the hurricanes that were devastating so many down there. I heard so many people say they were praying for decent weather for the festival since it not only gave us an opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends, it also serves as a key fundraiser to offset some of the many costs of running a parish; stewardship in action. Well, God heard our prayers and kept the rain away the entire time of the festival. On Friday night I saw Fr. John and he mentioned that a 2nd grader came to him and told him that he had been praying really hard for good weather and it was "SUNNY" when he came to the festival! Even the little ones know the power of prayer and God in our lives.

What really brought together this thought of "teamwork", however, was when I entered the "Quilt Raffle" to see about winning one of the beautiful quilts that ladies of our parish worked so lovingly on. Well, I not only won one quilt, but I won TWO! As I spoke with a couple of the ladies who had helped to hand-sew these quilts, I thought about the time and love that it takes to make those 10's of thousands of stitches on one single quilt. Hours and hours of sewing, spending time together, working on their little corner of the quilt until at last it is complete and is a beautiful work of art.

It's that kind of teamwork, coming together to share what we have been given to bless someone else's life. Search your heart to see how you can be a part of someone else's blessings. We are coming up on "Stewardship Sunday" and it's that time to get the right perspective on being one in Jesus Christ. Don't let the chance slip away to enjoy the fruits of giving.

My Uncle Bud passed away yesterday. He was 84 years old and lived in Utah. Most of his adult life, he lived in California, so whenever he made the trip to St. Louis, it was always a treat.

I grew up one parallel block from my grandparents, my Dad's parents. So when my Uncle Bud came to town, we spent a lot of time there.

Over the years, memories get jumbled up in one's head about the details, but what is most vivid to me about Uncle Bud, was his zest for life. He was always laughing. I just felt good when I was in his company.

I spoke with my Aunt Mary who will be traveling to Utah for the funeral services. It seems that it will not be a church funeral, just a service at the funeral home.

That tugs at my heart strings, since my Catholic faith is so dear to my heart. I wonder what he thought as he listened to my CD, that drew from my love of my God and my faith. I hope it made him remember his roots....

Uncle Bud was a good man and I pray that God will see that goodness and let him into heaven....so that he can be with his parents and his brothers, my dad and my Uncle Jim.

In closing, I just say, "I love you, Uncle Bud"....thanks for the memories!

R.I.P.