Wednesday, Fourth Week of Lent

If you believed Moses you would then believe me, for it was about me that he wrote. (John 5:46)

Reflection

That first email was stiff and stilted, commenting about something on her page. It was not decorated with cheerful emotions, or saucy in humor. But it was a start.

She wrote back, and I replied, and soon we were emailing regularly. The stiffness and anger faded eventually to forgiveness. We each saw the wrongs we’d both committed against each other and asked forgiveness. Then something found its way into the messages that I had missed for ten long years. Love. The bond between mother and daughter had been ignited once more. I described in detail her three grandchildren: Michael, age five; David, age three; and Chrissy, a three-month-old babe. My mother had only seen pictures of them through other family members. I described them to her now. How they smiled. Their fears, and their joys. Their distinct and marvelous personalities. When they said something funny, I would type it in an email and send it to her, introducing her to their charm, and the sheer miracle of their existence.

She jotted off details of my childhood, tidbits I had forgotten. Funny stories to tell my children someday. Over a distance of 2,000 miles, she was getting to know her grandchildren, and reacquainting herself with me.

One day, an email arrived saying she was coming for a visit, if that was okay. Tears streaming down my face, I typed my reply, “Yes, come. The kids would love to see you. I would love to see you.”

She came. She saw for herself all the details I’d written about my children. She held them in her arms, and smelled their hair. She hugged me, and met the man of my dreams, my husband.

While she was visiting, we wrote to my grandmother. Growing up, I hadn’t known my grandmother very well. My mother and she had also been estranged. Funny how generations repeat themselves sometimes.

Gradually we began an email relationship, and now we converse regularly, spanning the miles and the lost years with the click of a send button. She has a sense of humor I adore, and her wit is razor sharp. I’m proud to call her Grandma. Even prouder that she calls me granddaughter.

I hear all the time that the internet is full of garbage and sex. I would say yes, if you are looking for it. But the internet is also full of rewarding experiences for those with the courage to take them.

It is a resource for finding lost relatives, educating your children, learning the wonderful diversity of humanity, and most importantly to me, keeping touch with family and friends. Don’t fear this technology. Embrace the good in it!

I smile now to think I almost argued my husband out of this computer. It’s one argument I’m glad I lost. The funny thing is, my husband rarely uses the computer. But I’m fairly sure I’ve made good use of it. My mother and Grandmother agree.

—Karman Wilson

Lenten Question

Q: Aside from Ash Wednesday, which begins Lent, what are its principal events?

A: There are a variety of saints’ days which fall during Lent, and some of these change from year to year since the dates of Lent itself change based on when Easter falls. However, the Sundays during the Lenten season commemorate special events in the life of Our Lord, such as his Transfiguration and his Triumphal Entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, which begins Holy Week. Holy week climaxes with Holy Thursday, on which Christ celebrated the first Mass, Good Friday, on which he was Crucified, and Holy Saturday—the last day of Lent—during which Our Lord lay in the Tomb before his Resurrection on Easter Sunday, the first day after Lent.

Lenten Action

Give up drinking for today; give the money saved to the poor.

Prayer

Lord, during this Lenten season nourish us with Your word of life and make us one in love and prayer.