I have witnessed, in person, special moments in athletic events. Not all were by professional athletes, and in fact many of them were by high school boys and girls.

It’s rare that I get chills from watching a game on TV. But I felt something special watching Albert Pujols on Saturday, October 22, when he put on his record-breaking power display in Game 3 of the World Series.

It merely shows you what people are capable of doing.

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Donna and I spoke about our journey with depression this week to a group called “Theology On Tap.” It was organized by the Aquinas Institute of St. Louis. On a semi-regular basis, the group meets at a St. Louis restaurant and hears a speaker on some subject of faith and religion while taking the opportunity to sip their favorite wine or beer.

As usual, we asked for questions after our presentation. As usual, there were several people with questions they wanted answered in front of the entire group.

As usual, many more people lined up to talk to us one-on-one afterward.

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I often find myself thinking about things that popped into my head for no apparent reason. And I find myself wishing I could share them with someone.

Well, here are a few of those thoughts.

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I have noticed something divine in my son lately.

No, I’m not saying Josh is a god. Although I think he’s a special young man, I don’t even know that he’s ready to be canonized as a saint. But watching him in certain situations has given me some insight as to what it might have been like to be around Jesus a couple of centuries ago.

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Being a Christian isn’t like being in a club. Being a Christian is a 24-hours-a-day proposition.

I know there are many people who don’t treat their religion and faith that way. For a relatively small percentage of Catholics, for instance, they attend Mass on Sundays, Easter and Christmas, thinking that’s all that membership requires. But in actuality, it takes much, much more.

For instance, being a Catholic Christian requires regular prayer. And I would add that it takes additional reading to enhance the ability to live a good, holy life.

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America – at least the American media – has rediscovered Africa.

I don’t know what to think as I see all of that or read about the famine and drought in those African countries, situations complicated even more by civil war and soldiers who don’t seem to think twice about raping some of those women right in front of the children.

It makes me think of Psalm 126, where it reads in part: “Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage as streams in dry land.”

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One of the annoying things about having “anxiety issues” is that the illness turns a party into a paralyzing fear. Literally.

I faced that situation a couple of times last weekend, when I attended two large gatherings. On Saturday, we had a party to celebrate the three college graduations in our family this year as well as my 50th birthday from last month; there probably were 75 or so people who showed up over the course of the day. On Sunday, we attended a party for my dad’s side of our family, which meant about 50 aunts and uncles and cousins and their children.

I had a good time. But it was like work to do so.

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There are a lot of things they don’t tell you about being a grownup. Or at least there are a lot of things they did tell me as a kid but I just wasn’t listening or didn’t believe them.

For instance, there are some really hard decisions to make in life.

I had that reaffirmed past week when I decided Trixie, our 14-year-old Australian shepherd, needed to be put to sleep.

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I used to have so much energy and really looked forward to gatherings of friends for dinner and enjoyed family parties at holidays. That Mike Eisenbath was confident, outgoing, satisfied with his life. He felt loved and important and capable.

The last several years, I have wondered why that man has disappeared.

It’s true that many people change as time passes. Our bodies can’t do all the things they did more easily in youthful days — such as driving a long distance without rest or doing some physical labor — and that can frustrate some people. Many folks need glasses to see things that seemed so clear in their 20s and 30s. At a certain point, many people need a cane just to help them shuffle along.

But that doesn’t have to take the twinkle out of our eyes or the positive out of our attitudes.

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The following story was printed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch almost 20 years ago. But it hasn’t lost even a little bit of its inspiration.

CLINTON COUNTY, Ill. – In the country, the sky looks so much bigger than a city sky. One could look for hours and never count all the stars, although goodness knows Shirley Von Bokel has tried.

Ever since she was 9, Von Bokel would gaze out her window or sit on the porch of her family’s farmhouse a few miles outside the Clinton County community of Aviston. ‘‘I made the same wish every time another star would pop out, ‘’ she says, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

Whenever she closed her eyes before blowing out the candles on her birthday cake, Von Bokel did the same thing, wishing for the impossible.

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