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Week 26 - Healing Grace



We're not going to sugar coat it. This week was hard. A miscommunication between us led to a painful evening of tears and heartache. No harm was intended but a loss was experienced that could not be undone. Don't worry - baby is fine. These are just social challenges, magnified by a hundred-year quarantine and pregnancy hormones. Apologies were made and forgiveness offered but hurt can still linger. Unfortunately, some mistakes can't be fixed, and we have to find a way to accept what we cannot control. This pregnancy has carried a tremendously strong theme of humility and surrender. From the very beginning, we knew God was calling us to surrender control to His will, and this has been constant throughout our journey. This time, the challenge itself was relatively small, but it felt enormous.

Our time under Michigan's stay-at-home order has been challenging, to say the least. While we have certainly enjoyed extra time with our Diachun siblings, there's no denying that there's no place like home. We constantly find ourselves wishing for personal items we didn't think to grab in addition to missing the sheer comfort of the space we've spent so much time making our own. Its also really difficult not being able to see our friends. We're used to stopping into our favorite spots in town and bumping into familiar faces, but nearly everything from nutrition club to university are closed down. So, those accidental greetings are starting to feel like a distant memory.

Above all, the hardest part about this social change is missing mass. Our faith has been a constant throughout our entire relationship. When we met, we were both ready to bring a partner into our relationships with God. We consider ourselves exceptionally blessed to share a rich faith tradition. From November of 2016 to March of this year, we could count on one hand the number of Sunday masses we attended apart. The summit of our faith has been a constant source of replenishment for our relationship, as we navigated challenging waters and different seasons of life these past 3 years. We have consistently turned to the sacraments for much needed grace, often supporting and encouraging one another when we recognized a spiritual need for renewal. It has now been 8 weeks since we could receive the Eucharist, a gift we never realized could be so easily taken for granted. As we navigated the emotional hurdle that stemmed from our miscommunication, we acknowledged the need for God's healing grace in our marriage. At first, we felt added despair as we lamented the closure of parishes and lack of access to the sacraments. In time, though, we learned that St. John the Baptist in Ypsilanti had found a way to safely offer confession and Eucharistic adoration. We breathed a collective sigh of relief and allowed God's healing graces to wash over us. We still long to receive the Eucharist, but the ability to visit Jesus, even if we cannot receive him physically, was extremely powerful. So, while this week was hard, we remain hopeful for the future in front of us.


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