Beautiful Picture

How many times have you looked at a picture and just are in awe at its beauty. Sometimes we look at peoples lives and say the same thing. Everything seems to be in place everything seems to be what you want your life to be like. But what we don't see a lot of the time is what went into making that picture or that life. The background, the foundation, is hidden from clear view by the subject matter.
We were at a meeting the other night were got into a conversation with a man in his 40. He owns his own business and is doing very well with it. He is married and has 4 children of which the oldest is a teenager and the youngest I believe was eight. He is Vietnamese, has a house, car, and is doing well financially. He is active in his parish and is called on by the Priest whenever there is a marriage problem within the Vietnamese community. He goes and talks to the couple which is having problems and tries to help them work out their differences. His own family meets for 2 hours every Friday night around 8pm at the kitchen table for what they call a, "no parents night". Every one sits down, parents included, and tells what they have been doing all week, what was good and what was bad, and what they might need help with. There is more but I think you can image what the picture looks like.
Now for the background. This picture was started when this man came to the United States, maybe around the age of 19. He did not know anyone, he could not speak English, he had no money, or higher education. When asked what he did, he said " he prayed". Every morning when he got up he prayed that he would have a good day and every night he prayed in thanksgiving for all that the day had brought him. He asked Mary to watch over him and to protect him. He learned English from listening, and watching television and from other people around him. He said every day he still prays in the morning for help in the day and every night prays in thanksgiving for all his blessings. When he is asked to go visit a troubled family he said he prays to Mary that she will put the words in his mouth, and use him to help this family in need. Then when he is done visiting with that family he prays in thanksgiving to Mary for helping him and using him to help that family.
As we go through life enjoying God's picture album, I guess we have to remember at one time it was a blank canvas.