The Ladybug

Tag: Blog

  • The ‘Ber Months: Enjoying my Favorite Time of Year, Grateful to be Alive!

    Thank you so much to my readers of The Ladybug Blog! I thought that the last time I wrote an entry would be the beginning of a comeback. However, life got lifey! There were other events that the universe had in mind for me. As a result, I stopped writing for a couple of months. Let’s catch up!  

    I would like to begin by saying that even though my life throughout the last two months has looked difficult to outsiders, I truly feel incredibly grateful. First, I am alive! I was not sure I was going to be able to say that recently. I’ve had two stays on hospital medical floors, and a stint in physical therapy/occupational therapy rehab between the two hospitalizations. Thankfully, I am now typing to you from my home apartment again. I have been placed on strict bedrest by my team of medical doctors, and my friends and family are reinforcing the importance of the rest. 

    So, with these difficulties, why am I feeling blessed instead of worn down? I truly feel that my life is a gift. Yes, I live with multiple chronic illnesses which have recently been in flares. But I realized how fleeting life can be as I lay in a hospital bed hooked up to heart monitors, oxygen, liquids, breathing treatments, and various IV medications. All I could think about was that I did not want to die. I have so much more to accomplish in this life, and I would never want to leave my family and friends. Life is such a precious gift!! 

    Perhaps I sound a bit stereotypical! The hospital patient faced with death who comes around to loving life even more. However, that is truly how I feel. God is Good, and I will praise Him for every moment left that I have on this earth. I savor my family and friends who have supported me so lovingly throughout these past months. Thank you! Also, thank you to my incredible professional support team, both medical doctors and mental health practitioners. In addition, I’ve had some truly wonderful hospital staff and PT/OT rehab staff. And my church family that has been concerned about my wellbeing are incredible. I feel held in prayer in a way that I have never experienced before in my life. There has not been a single moment that I have felt alone. I must also state that I firmly believe that God sent some of my “Team” from beyond. These are loved ones that have already passed and remain my guardian angels. It has taken a village to keep me surviving, and I do not take it for granted. Thank you to all, I am the luckiest girl ever!

    Now to the title of this piece, the ‘ber months as they are often called on social media memes. September has flown by for me with the events I just described. But this is my favorite time of year, and I am determined to enjoy it. Perhaps it will look different in 2026, as I will be mostly convalescing in bed. I have my bed facing two windows in my apartment, and I love watching the leaves fall to the ground. The colors of the trees as they begin their journey towards winter always make me happy. In addition, the alternating crisp cool sunny days and windy rainy afternoons makes New England weather interesting. I have discovered a new seasonal Starbucks iced latte that I truly think is my favorite coffee drink ever! And let’s not forget that my birthday is October 25, making me both a Halloween baby and a Scorpio. What could be better? Well, maybe Christmas. The holiday with family traditions I look forward to the most.

    I am blessed that even as life is getting harder all over the world, I still live a completely luxurious existence. I have good food, wonderful warm shelter, nice clothes, electricity, enough money to get by, and most of all a loving community around me. Yes, recently life has thrown me multiple curved balls. I will admit that there have been a few tears and desperate prayers. But I refuse to feel sorry for myself or let my struggles get me down. Again, God is Good, and I want to stay alive long enough to serve Him and thank Him.  

    Dear readers, please be patient with me as I re-enter my writing world while recovering from my health difficulties. I have a BIG announcement planned for the next blog entry, The Ladybug #50, so please keep your eyes alert for that soon!  And remember, even in the scariest and darkest of times, there is always always a light. Keep your heart open, and God will Bless you. 

    With Love, G. 

  • Hello…It’s Been a Minute! And You Can Help with My Come Back! 

    Welcome Readers of The Ladybug Blog! Here are some important updates! First, I took a break from social media and daily writing. This was a much-needed rest time due to physical illness and mental exhaustion. In western first world society we are encouraged to hustle, and rest is looked down on. However, taking a break is also a luxury that many in this world are never afforded. I do not take the blessing of stepping away lightly. I am thankful to recharge and now…come back! 

    Second, I will be typing away again now, and I hope to return to regular blog and Substack posts. Please check back frequently at the links in my bio! In addition, this is the 48th post of The Ladybug Blog. I have decided to make a major announcement for the 50th post with some exciting news that readers will NOT want to miss out on! Look out for that coming soon!  

    Third, I would like to share in this post about a new goal of mine. Throughout my time writing for The Ladybug Blog, I have frequently discussed my love of walking for charity causes. Well, I have had to slow down in recent months. My physical health has been a barrier to achieving mileage and physical fitness. But I have addressed my need for healthy exercise with my professional care team. With their help, I am being guided in ways to return to being “in shape.”  

    With a view to health and social justice causes, I have signed up for the Abby’s House 50th Anniversary Hybrid Virtual 5K Walk in mid-October 2026! Raising funds to support Abby’s House is a deeply personal cause for me. Abby’s House is a shelter and safe place for abused women and children located in Worcester, MA. Domestic violence is a cruelly all too common occurrence in relationships. Abby’s House provides a safe landing for women to save and re-start their lives. I cannot emphasize enough how important their work is!  

    Now, your turn! There are two ways that you can support me! You can directly help Abby’s House by sponsoring me for this walk at the following link: 

    Gaelle McLoud – Abby’s House 50th Anniversary Hybrid 5K Run/Walk

    To gain assistance from Abby’s House for yourself or a friend/family member, you can visit Get Help | Abby’s House

    Finally, you can aid me by reaching out to offer a friend for me to go on a training walk with, followed by an iced coffee or iced matcha green tea latte! I have approximately 3 months to get physically ready to walk a 5K after an extended period of doctor enforced bed rest. It is going to be hard for me! But I am determined. If you are feeling extra generous, you can meet both of my requests for help. I appreciate your support. Let’s Go! 

    Blessings and Sunshine, G. 

    Here are some pictures from the beginnings of my training:  

  • Forgiving Societies/National Leaders

    Are you struggling with today’s news? Me too! I have copied below the sermon I wrote for today’s service at a church where I provide pulpit supply. I hope it will help you! The topic is on forgiveness, specifically forgiving societies and national leaders. I feel that this topic is quite relevant to the concerns of today’s world. Unfortunately, I was sick today and did not deliver this message in person, and so a fellow church member did a wonderful job bringing it to life on my behalf. However, I believe that the message of forgiveness is an important one, and I hope you find inspiration from my take on this topic. Thank you. Blessings, G.

    Scripture: New Testament:  Luke 23: 33-34

                                                                Sermon

                                        Forgiving Societies/National Leaders

                Good morning.  Today is the final Sunday in the sermon series on forgiveness.  We will be looking at forgiving a society or national leader who you feel has caused suffering.  This is an extremely difficult type of forgiveness, because we often do not have control over decisions made by government leaders, even though those decisions may affect us negatively.  For this reason, I believe that forgiving societal policies or governing officials is the hardest form of forgiveness, and perhaps is not always possible.  However, we can look to both Jesus and to other devout Christians for examples of how to achieve forgiveness.

                First, I would like to look at the words of Jesus from today’s scripture reading.  As Jesus is being crucified for crimes he did not commit, he speaks the words, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  A short but powerful sentence.  Jesus is forgiving the political and religious leaders who nailed him to the cross.  He knows that they are ignorant of the enormity of the evil in their actions.  Jesus’ forgiveness in his moment of suffering and death amazes me.  How can I hope to replicate His actions and attitude?  If I were in a similar situation, where my life was tormented or taken due to a political leader, could I forgive that person?  Would I be able to follow the example of Jesus?

                I would like to tell you the true story of a woman who did achieve the seemingly impossible, and followed the example of forgiveness demonstrated by Jesus.  I met Irene Gut Opdyke when I was 14 years old while attending a reading for her book tour in May 2001.  Mrs. Opdyke wrote a book entitled In My Hands, about her experiences as a resistance fighter during World War II.  She was personally responsible for rescuing 16 Jewish people, at risk to her own life and safety.  When I met her face-to-face while having my copy of her book signed, she took my face in her hands and whispered the word, “Beautiful.”  I looked into her clear blue eyes and I felt a peace and calm come over me, as if I were meeting an angel.  I will never forget that moment.  Let me tell you more of her story.

                Mrs. Opdyke was born Irene Gut in Poland on May 5, 1918.  When Word War II began, she was 17 years old, and training as a nurse in a Polish hospital.  The war took her across Poland to many locations as the country became occupied by the Russians and the Germans.  Finally, she ended up working at a dining hall doing slave labor for the Nazis.  Initially, Irene was unaware of the extent of violence and evil that the Nazis were enacting on the Jewish people.  However, by age 20, Irene began to witness first-hand what the Nazis were capable of, and she dedicated herself to fighting against them.  She began slowly at first, by smuggling food into concentration camps. Soon, she had the opportunity to expand her resistance.

                While working at the dining hall, Irene gained the attention and favor of an older Nazi major, who I will call Major R. for ease of pronunciation.  Irene used his affection to press her advantage in aiding the Jews in the nearby camp and ghetto.  Eventually, Major R. asked Irene to move in with him as a housekeeper at a nearby villa.  Irene set up the basement of the villa as a hiding place, and kept 13 Jews secret whom she had rescued from a murderous raid by the Nazis.  However, one day she was caught with two of her Jewish rescues in the villa’s kitchen by Major R.  She begged him not to turn herself and the Jews in to be killed.  Major R. was furious, but he agreed to keep her secret if she would become his mistress.  Irene agreed, feeling that she had no other choice, even though it was, as she described it, “shameful and humiliating.”

                Throughout her recounting of the experiences of the war, and all the suffering she endured so that she might aid the Jews, Irene described a devout faith in God.  There were periods where she wondered if God was around, due to the evil she was viewing, such as public executions.  But Irene always came back to prayer and visiting churches whenever she was faced with tough situations.  She never lost hope, and she never gave up on finding small moments of God’s love with her companions.  Irene remarked more than once of the beauty of nature that God created which seemed untouched by the ravages of war.  For example, the birds would still sing, and the seasons would still change.  The day after Major R. took her as his mistress, the first thing Irene did was attend a mass at the local church.  She said in her book, “I had God’s blessing, I was never more sure of anything.”

                I believe that it was this intense faith in God, which sustained Irene during the perils and trials of World War II, that eventually led to a moment of forgiveness towards Major R.  He had forced her to come with him while the Germans were retreating from the Russians at the end of the war.  At night, while he was securing her a hotel room, she said, “In spite of everything, I felt grateful to him; he had helped me save many lives.  I was already forgiving him for what he had put me through.”  When Major R. left the hotel for the night, Irene escaped him, and joined the resistance guerilla fighters who were living nearby in the woods.  They were the only people she knew who would look after her.

    Irene began to confront her anger at the Germans and Russians for invading Poland by acting as a spy for the resistance.  However, she felt uncomfortable with the violence of the guerilla army, and eventually left to look for her family.  When her search for her loved ones was unproductive, she transitioned to working at a hospital for displaced Jews and used her old nursing skills. These steps aided Irene in a slow process of accepting her experiences in the war.

    In a similar way, when we feel that forgiveness for a government is too hard to accomplish, we can take a step towards forgiveness through our behavior.  Perhaps we cannot change the world, but we can have an impact such as the one Irene had.  By following God’s will through righteous action, we free ourselves from the burden of anger in our hearts that can block forgiveness.  We must let God hold our leaders accountable for their sins.  It is only our job to take what action we can to combat injustices. 

                Irene Gut Opdyke eventually immigrated to America, and lived to age 85.  She wrote her book as a response to Holocaust deniers in the USA.  She began touring for her book, which was published in 1999, to remind Americans that the Holocaust was true and terrible.  However, her overwhelming message was one of faith in God and she emphasized the love we must have for each other.  In the dedication to her book the words, “Remember, love not hate,” stood out to me.  She lived through tragedy, but she triumphed with a message of love and forgiveness despite it all.  I encourage you to learn from her example.  I am truly humbled by her story, and the life she led.  God calls us close to Him, to live, love, and forgive like Him.  If Irene Gut Opdyke can forgive a Nazi officer and let God work through her, we can follow in her wake in our everyday lives.  Let us gain courage from the example of Jesus and His servant Irene, to act with a forgiving heart.