Category Archives: Motherhood

I FEEL LEFT OUT

Posted on by

I feel left out – left out from the doings and celebrations
of my family and friends. I am restricted by Multiple
Chemical Sensitivity.

I don’t know if any of you suffer from this but it is
so subtle and insidious. If it caused physical pain
when I was exposed to chemicals in smoke,
perfume, exhaust, or any of the multiple ways
that it hides in many seemingly innocent things, it
would be so much easier to avoid.

When exposed, my body goes into shock and shuts
down. I run a fever, suffer depression, tears start flowing,
I suffer exhaustion and my brain goes haywire and won’t
focus or behave in a rational manner. There is no cure,
no pill I can take to offset the symptoms, there is only
avoidance. The worst effects last three days and then
dwindle away.

I have sometimes had to move at Mass four times to
get away from the fragances that are worn by people.
I have learned to sit in the front pew, that way I have more
fresh air around me.

It is not the fragrance itself but the chemicals that are
in it. Going to any crowded place like movies, dances,
gatherings, airplanes, and even other people’s homes is
kin to entering a mine field. I just never know what to
expect and who to avoid. I need to be on my most
alert self to detect any odors that might give these
chemicals away.

There was to be a baby shower for my newest
granddaughter but it turned into a Welcome Baby
gathering because she decided to make an appearance
a month early. I am not able to attend because my son
and daughter-in-law do not want to ask their guests to
be fragrant free. It is a simple thing to not spray yourself
with perfume or after shave but it is a deeply personal
thing which people seem to think defines who they are.

I understand but am still feeling left out because I cannot
attend such a celebration. I gifted the party with a diaper
cake – lavendar of course, for those who know me, and I
knit a baby afghan for Baby Victoria which is also in lavendar.
I can contribute in that way but still feel left out.

Do you remember when my daughter’s husband died and she
requested that I not attend the funeral because she did not
wish to speak to me? I was in quite a quandary about sending
her a card and you all gave me such encouraging words to do so,
which I did.

Well her daughter, my granddaughter, is graduating from college
this Sunday and has invited me to her commencement and to the
party afterwards. She had been upset that I was not allowed to
be with the rest of the family at the memorial service so she is
taking it into her own hands to make sure I am not left out
this time. For this I am so grateful.

The weather is promising not to cooperate and my granddaughter’s
apartment is way too small to allow her guests to be inside out of the
rain. Guess what is happening? My daughter is offering her condo
for the party knowing full well that I am invited and will be attending.
God works in mysterious ways. I do not know what will transpire
but am trusting in Spirit that all is in Divine Order.

There is only one hitch, the condo is small for all those people
and still have fresh air so the chemicals are not overpowering me.
It is too late to ask them to be fragrant free so I will be
winging it. I am not sure I will be able to attend the indoor
party but I am showing up. I am being given an opportunity
to at least see my daughter hopefully and I do not want to pass it up.

We always have choices, no matter what life brings to us. I
choose not to be ill and lose a week out of my life being sick
and not being able to function very well. This has been the
quandary that I have lived with for the last 35 years and
sometimes I throw all caution to the wind because I want
so badly to be part of the celebrations.

Part of me struggles because I know we create what we
focus on and I do not wish to create this sensitivity. Yet
when the effects show up, I need to apologize to my body
for subjecting it to such harsh treatment. It has been a tug
of war between my mind and my heart for ever so long.

If you have any family or friends that appear to be evasive
or never want to participate in gatherings, perhaps you will
give them the benefit of the doubt. They may get reactions,
not be diagnosed and have no idea why they hate parties
or gettogethers. It took me many years to discover what
was happening and I paid for an expensive test that the
insurance would not pay for in order to find out just what
was going on with my body.

I will keep you posted on the results of the opportunity
that God is giving me and my daughter. The following is
a prayer of encouragement to all who need to make a
choice.

Dear Lord,
I thank You for this day, I thank You for my
being able to see and to hear this morning. I’m blessed
because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God.
You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me
to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude.
Let me make the best of each and every
day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.

And give the best response when I’m pushed beyond my limits.
I know that when I can’t pray, You listen to my heart.

Continue to use me to do Your will.
Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others.

Keep me strong that I may help the weak…
Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others.

I pray for those that are lost and can’t find their way.
I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood.
I pray for those who don’t know You intimately.
I pray for those that will delete this without sharing it with others.
I pray for those that don’t believe.

But I thank you that I believe that God changes people and
God changes things.

I pray for all my sisters and brothers, for each and every
family member in their households.

I pray for peace , love and joy in their homes that they
are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no
problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God.

Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight.

Love and Light,

Mary Grace
http://www.TheWoundedChalice.com
http://www.TheWoundedChalice.com/blog
[email protected]

3 Brows Beach Dr
PO Box 403
Wales, MA 01081, USA
413-245-3977

What makes a Mother?

Posted on by

What makes a mother? Although physically the very first thing
you need would be a womb, you can be a mother without one
by adoption or any other method such as marrying someone
who has children, etc. It is the LOVE that makes you a mother,
a MOM.

Every human on this planet Earth has been borne through a
womb whether it was theirs or someone else’s. Do we honor
the organ that allows humanity to survive and propagate?

In all honesty, I think we take it for granted. There is much
more interest in preventing pregnancy because it seems to
occur so quickly or so effortlessly for most women or at
least teenagers.

When it was suggested that I have a hysterectomy, I would
allow it only if they returned my children’s first home to me.
I had no idea that my request was unusual, my whole focus
was in honoring the organ that allowed me to fulfill my life’s
mission of being a mother.

In fact, it was Mother Mary who guided me to write my
book, The Wounded Chalice. She gave me the title and
told me the cover was to be a picture of the chalice that
she would lead me to find.

The Chalice holds the Blood of Life just as the womb does.
Thus the title was quite appropriate for the stories of my life
which explains how I conquered all the challenges that
showed up to further my belief in a Higher Power, God and
also angels.

I would like to share with all of you, a poem? of the truth about
MOTHERS

Real Mothers don’t eat quiche; they don’t have time to make it.
Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox.
Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids.
Real Mothers know that dried play dough doesn’t come out of carpets.
Real Mothers don’t want to know what the vacuum just sucked up.
Real Mothers sometimes ask ‘Why me?’ and get their answer when a little voice says,
‘Because I love you best.’
Real Mothers know that a child’s growth is not measured by height or years or grade…It is
marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother…

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE – My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE – My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE – My Mother doesn’t really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE – Naturally, Mother doesn’t know that, either.
16 YEARS OF AGE – Mother? She’s hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE – That old woman? She’s way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE – Well, she might know a little bit about it!
35 YEARS OF AGE – Before we decide, let’s get Mom’s opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE – Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE – Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

Happy Mother’s Day, share the Love of the Mother with each other.

Love and Light,

Mary Grace

http://www.TheWoundedChalice.com
http://www.TheWoundedChalice.com/blog
[email protected]

Monstrance of the Mother

Posted on by

Do you know what a Monstrance is? It is a repository for
the Holy Eucharist. There are many designs but most are of
gold with a lot of glitter and starburst designs.

I went to the yearly Catholic Women’s Conference last
Saturday expecting to find humor, comraderie and
teachings which I did. I met some women whom I
already knew and made many new friends.

One of the women I met that day was my exhusband’s
exwife, that is quite the mouthful. We certainly have
much in common but we did not speak of it. That is
the past and we are both in the present and looking
forward to the future.

I met a former coworker whom I had not seen in years.
We had both worked for the Postal Service but in
separate buildings. She is retired now and when she
found out I wrote a book, The Wounded Chalice,
she insisted on purchasing it. That is the ultimate
compliment for an author.

Knowing that I could not partake of the lunch they
were offering, I have Celiac Disease so need to be
gluten-free, I had brought my own food. They all
had wonderful looking lunch boxes of sandwiches
with fruit and desert. I brought my staple, chicken
chunks with walnuts and cranberries which I love.

I finally got around to going into the chapel where
the Holy Eucharist was exposed for our benefit.
I went into this small room and went down the center
aisle. I had to forcibly prevent myself from swooning
into a Resting in the Spirit right there on the floor.

I was literally blown away by the energy emitting
from this Monstrance. As I said before, most
Monstrances were in a starburst circular pattern
and most ornate in their presentation.

It is 3 feet high, individually created of layered
wood with hand-carved features and carefully
painted shadows to reflect Mary’s humility.

Her hands gently encompass a luna where Jesus
is the focus of adoration. A small light shines
through the luna creating a soft illumination of the
Sacred Host. It is securely suspended over
Mary’s heart and is called Mother of the Holy
Eucharist.

I believe the reason I was blown away is because
of its simplicity. Words cannot do it justice and here
I am trying to pass on to you what I experienced.

In hindsight, had I known She was there, I would have
spent a lot more of my day there in the chapel.

It never entered my mind that Mary would be honored
in this way and yet, She was the first Monstrance.
Her womb held Jesus first but I never saw the womb from
this perspective. Mary’s body was the first Tabernacle!

Mary asked me to write my book, The Wounded Chalice,
specifically to help women understand the value of their womb
and the mission it is accomplishing. Without this organ, there
would be no future human race.

My book is also about the many ways I gave my power away
and the different ways I took my power back. When I had a
hysterectomy, I demanded that it be returned to me so I could
honor my children’s first home.

I had wanted to include a picture of this beautiful holder
of the Mother’s most precious gift to the world but so far
could not find it anywhere. I spent two hours searching the
web but no luck. I finally called the designer so I could
get more info to share with you.

The designer will be returning my call but as I did not
want to delay the delivery of this newsletter, I decided
not to wait but I will share the news as I get it.

Last Saturday was quite the day for reflection and
exposure to our powerful feminine models. After the
conference, I was invited to an evening with Swami
Nirmalananda (Rama, Founder of Svaroopa Yoga).
I have been going to Svaroopa Yoga for around
8 years but had never had the opportunity to meet her.

It was a full day and very pregnant with experiences.
Do you have any you would like to share?

If you want to find out more about my book and my
life experiences, go to my website, blog or email me:

http://www.TheWoundedChalice.com
http://www.TheWoundedChalice.com/blog
[email protected]