Catherine's Cafe Vocation Blog

Recently, our country experienced one of the most devastating floods in its history.  In three days 250.2 mm of rain fell!  Many homes were inundated with water.  Numerous families lost everything as flood waters rose to as high as 7 feet in some areas!  But almost instantly, floods of relief poured in.  Persons heroically braved the weather and the water to rescue those trapped in their homes using every which way imaginable.  Others in the private and corporate sectors provided free goods and services for the victims of the flood, to a degree that far exceeded the level of the flood waters!   How hopeful I became when I saw goodness, truth and beauty shining out in the faces of the thousands who came out to help their fellow citizens in a time of need.  A little girl wondered what a saint might be. One day her mother took her to a great cathedral to see the gorgeous stained-glass windows with scenes from the Bible. When she saw th...

It's raining again today!  We are well over our average for this month and it's only half-over! Groan. However, I must tell you I live in a rain forest so rain is part of our life, but when the rainfall goes over the usual amount it causes us all to groan. We expect rain but we don't let it stop us from doing things. We have parades in the rain, children go out for recess in the rain, soccer and baseball games go on when it rains. We know which vegetables and flowers to plant and which ones will rot.  We adjust to what we cannot change and we make the best of what we have. But because of the rain and also the darkness of winter the people of Juneau have created a great sense of community.  More activities happen indoors and neighbors know each other better and look out for one another, especially when a need arises. With only 30 days of sunshine a year we could be a grumpy people and complainers. Instead, we truly rejoice when we have one of those rare sunny ...