Moments of "Friendship"

Saturday was a day spent completely school work-free! I had the opportunity to head to the MSU/ND game in South Bend - what a gorgeous day and cheers for an ND victory (even though it wasn't pretty)!

Marisa and I made it to 3 tailgates and saw quite a few friends. The weather was mostly cloudy with only hints of sunlight during the day, but the temperature was perfect. Hello Fall!

While at the ACE tailgate, we got to talking with Doc Doyle (one of our favorite ACE professors/directors), and he really helped me find a renewed sense of purpose at the school where I am currently teaching: I was explaining how I teach a very privileged population and that sometimes I feel that I should be working for children and families who have more of a monetary need. However, Doc pointed out that the students whom I am teaching are very much in need of that spiritual direction away from the stuff & things they usually find happiness in. In other words, my calling right now is to help move these kids away from stuff of this world to faith in the next. It's not an easy task, but when put in this light, Doc really helped me find peace with where I am. (I really needed that!)

After the ACE tailgate, Marisa and I took a quick stop for prayer at the Grotto, and we then took a walk around one of the lakes. Just lovely...

A view of the dome across the lake - check out those clouds!

Our seats were amazing - great for seeing the game at both ends of the field and great for the band's halftime show too!

Our seats were right about on the 40 yard line in the bottom section - sweet!

The ND Band

Yes, all of these elements added up to make the day just "perfect." However, my favorite part of the day actually occurred in the bathroom...

A small girl (probably about 7 years old) was having a very hard time washing her hands at the sink. So, I leaned over and pushed down on the faucet so she could clean her hands, saying, "Let me help you." Afterwards, she thanked me, got some paper towels, and went back outside. Upon leaving the bathroom, she smiled and waved at me, so, of course, I smiled and waved back. I turned to Marisa and said, "I think I made a new friend."

In reflecting on that moment, I realized what a small action and what little effort it took to make a "friend" yesterday. And it got me to thinking, how many times during each day do we have opportunities to do such simple actions for others? How many "friends" are we taking the small moments to make? How many "friends" are we passing by?

What will you do today to make a "friend?"