February 27th, 2013: Solo Dios Basta.

Nada te tubre,                                  Let nothing disturb you, Nada te espante,                              Let nothing frighten you, Todo se pasa,                                  All things are passing away, Dios no se muda.                             God never changes. La paciencia todo lo alcanza;          Patience obtains all things; Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta;     Whoever has God lacks nothing; Solo Dios basta.                              God alone suffices. - Santa Teresa de Jesus                   - St. Teresa of Avila As I drove to Oxnard today to visit my mami, I was listening to a lecture on CD given by the former head of the Dominican Order, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, at LA Congress, on Spirituality and the Universal Call to Holiness.  He quoted St. Teresa of Avila.  All throughout the day this prayer was ingrained in my mind, in Spanish.  All things are passing.  God never changes.  Patience obtains all things. The last time I saw my mami was a week ago today.  She has now been moved to a rehabilitation facility in Oxnard.  I cannot describe the improvement I have seen after not seeing her for a week, it is nothing short of a miracle.  All things are passing.  My mami has a stronger voice and is able to have longer and more in depth conversations.  She has more control of her body and is therefore able to move her body in a more natural way.  La paciencia todo lo alcanza.  Patience obtains all things. Today, Sofia saw my mami, her ita (abuelita), for the first time in six weeks.  Sofia was a tad shy because my mami still looks weak, but I could tell that both were happy to be reunited.  While I talked to my mami this evening Sofia would run in and out of the room and smile.  My mami told me that Sofia has been a big motivator for her to recover quickly.  It made me so joyful to see them interact, even though it was brief. On the left is a picture of Sofia eating ice cream in the cafeteria at the rehabilitation facility after she visited with ita. It was so wonderful to talk to my mami today.  Her and I laughed several times.  Hearing her laugh made me rejoice.  It felt like I had her back, fully.  As I drove back to Los Angeles tonight, for the first time since all of this started, four weeks ago, I finally felt at peace with my mami's recovery.  Even though I am aware that my mom still has a long way until she regains all of her strength back - for example she is still on a feeding tube because her throat muscles are not strong enough yet to eat through her mouth and she cannot stand for long periods of time - I know that through and with the strength of God she will recover.  Solo Dios basta.  God alone suffices.