Sandy
Good morning!   My name is Sandy Girodat.  I have been a member of St. Clare for 34 years.  My husband, Don, and I have been married for 40 years. We have 2 daughters, Jodi and Jill.
As I was growing up I went to Catholic school and always went to church and my faith was strong. As I got older, in late teens and early 20’s, I got a little lazy and was not a strong practicing Catholic. Then when Jodi started school here at St. Clare, I started to attend Mass on a more regular basis.  
In 2006, during lent, I started going to the Divine Mercy Center - at first for the 3 o’clock hour and once in a while to say  the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  During that summer I started going to mass on Wednesdays and having a stronger prayer life and volunteering at the Center - as a result my prayer life got stronger.

My oldest daughter Jodi was married in 2005.  As the years passed she and her husband Paul were unsuccessful in conceiving a child, so of course I prayed and prayed that God would bless them with a child. My youngest daughter Jill was in college, wavering back and forth, one major then the next. While she was in college she didn’t seem very happy with the way things were going in her life so I started to pray for her to find a career or a direction in her life that would make her happy.

Then in July 2010 we learned Jodi was pregnant - and one of my prayers had been answered.  A little while later we found out she was having twins.  We were all so excited and anxiously waited for the babies to arrive in April 2011. Then on a rainy fall October morning my youngest daughter woke up with severe abdominal pains - so I took her to Beaumont hospital, After a few tests they determined she was in labor and having a baby too-- the ER Dr. said she measured 20 weeks and unfortunately the baby wasn’t going to make it.  In the mist of the shock and emotion I uncharacteristically kept calm and immediately began to pray.  I was about to have a grandchild, much to our surprise, and was going to lose it!  I begged and pleaded for a miracle that we would have a healthy grandchild, even though there was no prenatal care, I prayed and prayed ---knowing that babies are a gift from God,

somewhere in this   there must be a plan.  So at that point I turned it over to God.  I Trusted in Him that he would get us through this. The baby’s heart rate was stressed, so the Dr. said she would have to do an emergency c section.  So there I was praying and praying - afraid of the outcome.  So our first grandchild was born.

And he was not 20 weeks - he was 39 weeks, great apgar scores and healthy.  I truly met God that day.   I had faith - I believed in God,  but that is the day I knew he was there right next to me,  hearing my prayers,  and Jill was happier than I had seen her in a long time.  2 ^nd prayer answered

Fast forward to March 2, 2011 when I got a call from Jodi –Paul was taking her to St. Johns.  She was having the babies early - so we got in the car, went to the hospital, and then fear stuck again.  When they would let me see her?  Someone would come out and talk to us they said ----so once again I started pleading with God to please take care of Jodi and the babies. It was 5 weeks early and there were 2.   Another emergency c section Luna and Cala were born. We almost lost them - especially Luna. CPR, seizures and difficulty breathing.  All the NIC unit nurses said it wasn’t looking good.  It was a very long 3 weeks in the NIC unit.  Then once again God listened to my pleas and the babies got to come home, Cala at 2 weeks and Luna at 3 weeks –3 ^RD prayer answered--my whole life I have prayed, but these  three situations brought to my attention God’s love for me.  Before I was so busy too busy to notice.

These stories may not have presented themselves in the proper order of things but I know in my heart it was God’s plan, and sometimes God writes our lives with crooked lines

God’s plan has blessed me with a wonderful husband for 40 years-2 beautiful, strong daughters and now two men I am honored to call my sons, and now 5 beautiful grandchildren.  Praise God!

What the future holds - I don’t know.  Will all my prayers be answered?   Yes - they always are, but sometimes He says yes ---sometimes He says wait and sometimes He says no.   It’s God’s plan, BUT what I do know is He will be right by our sides - every step of the way.  

Don
Good Morning…I am going to read an excerpt from my Father of the Bride speech…this is from April 20, 2013…

God works in mysterious ways...

As Jillian matured there was a recurring theme in our house...Jill would always respond to a situation that didn't go the way she envisioned by saying that she "always got the short end of the stick" favorite ...life never went her way...

And then on a fateful night in October 2011 Jillian's life changed. God blessed her with an absolutely beautiful son...and ALL of our lives changed...Jillian was instantly transformed into the most important person in the universe...a person responsible for the care and nurturing of a new life. The little girl I knew had, overnight, made a quantum leap to adulthood. She became a great mother...and I am very proud of her.

God works in mysterious ways...

That's when I met Ben... And I told him - that he didn't know it - but he just hit the lottery...life's lottery...  Ben actions quickly showed that he was a committed father and loving companion and a member of our family. I came to understand that we won life's lottery also!

God works in mysterious ways...

fast forward 2 1/2 years...add another absolutely beautiful daughter (referred to by big brother Jacob as "my baby Gemma"), a marriage proposal, and a place of their own. Ben worked very hard- every available moment - getting their house ready to move into. I am very proud to call him my son!
 
Sandy and I learned to keep our eyes and heart open - to recognize God's gifts...and that things happen for a reason.

So please raise your glass and join me in a toast to Jill, Ben, Jacob and Gemma and God...who does indeed work in mysterious and wonderful ways!!!

Amen