By Barbara Lishko

“Where did all the time go” we often comment as we wonder out loud. I might say the same thing as I look at my dusty, neglected, first attempt at blogging and my sadly forgotten writing.

What’s the deal? How could so much time pass by without as much as a peep, rant, or whine?  Well I might start by stating that we prepared for and married one daughter. Not just hired the whole event out, kind of wedding. NO, I am referring to the hand-made, stamped, glittered, glued, folded, licked, iced, sewed and painted 200 mason jars kind of preparation. You can be sure what I mentioned only “chips snowflakes” off this iceberg. If that isn’t enough, I am the kind of fool who has to make my own desserts too. Why, because I can. I am snooty that way when it comes to sweets. Pathetic? Yes. It’s a sickness, someone has to have it; and I have it in spades.

From the seven hundred, triple variety cupcakes, to the veil. I got my hands on all of it. Did I mention the six-hundred chocolate dipped strawberries? Well actually I did just the one to give an example, and my excellent team of family and friends punched out so many we were eating fermented, intoxicating “strawberry wine incased in chocolate” for weeks.

What we didn’t get to was the toilet paper. We had toilet paper alright, but we actually didn’t do something to pretty it up. For Pete’s sake, you gotta draw the line somewhere.

I blame Pinterest. Our daughter got into that “black hole of crafty creativeness gone mad” and didn’t surface for months. I had to finally scream “STOP!” You simply cannot have infinitesimal choices.

So back to the topic at hand, time loss. That endeavor took us through May, and the blessed and totally wondrous event was June first. May I state for the record that we live in Phoenix. Do the triple digit math.

In addition to the above mentioned social event of the year, I was double dipping at work trying to succeed at two full time ministries with the same zeal I have always given to just one. That endeavor of “pouring myself out as a gift” took me to the edge of crazy. You know that place where we take ourselves when we forget the “no” word. It is there that I usually run face first into the reality that I am not super woman; stupid woman or ignoramus woman perhaps, but definitely not a super hero. The good news is of course that God is there. He is in fact everywhere and that is the very place I was reminded that I don’t have to be and do everything on the planet.

It took a few months of discernment, lots of prayer and here I am now happily working in marriage preparation and have left the teens in wonderful, capable hands. It is however, September. Dare I say that the triple digit thing hasn’t changed, but I have.

The funny thing was I thought I would have to work so much harder teaching and talking to adults. Would they accept what I had to say regarding the Church teachings on marriage? Would I need to exercise and enlarge my vocabulary so it would adequately stimulate their minds rather than lull them into a coma? I learned pretty quickly that the same things applied to them as to teenagers; build relationships with energy, love, patience and little words. Many of them I found are after all the tragic victims of lapsed faith and under nourished when it comes to matters of the Church and her wisdom.

They are spiritually hungry and don’t know it. They are eager to make their future marriage a success despite coming from broken homes and lacking in authentic, joy-filled witnesses to emulate.

That’s where the rest of us need to come in. Our public witness of happy, faithful, lively, and dedicated marriages is crucial for those who need something to appraise and strive for themselves. I can tell you it is exciting work in this arena. It energizes me getting to know these young adults, and they are ready to do whatever it takes not to become a statistic. Conversions, transformations, changed hearts are flourishing I assure you.

So that is my last seven months in a nutshell. I ask your prayers for all of us who minister to those preparing for marriage and for the couples themselves. When we pray for our marriages and live them in truth and fidelity, being faithful in good times and bad, we are showing the world that marriage between a man and a woman is the best thing for society, for families, and for growth in holiness. As Blessed JPII said, so goes the family, so goes the world in which we live.