In 2020, Jimmie Schindler was a successful restaurant owner, operating Guadalupe’s Mexican Grill in Fort Wayne — a restaurant known for its fresh, allergen-friendly food and named after Our Lady of Guadalupe — while raising four kids with his wife, Katie. Then his world gradually began to t urn upside down. In the first wave of trials, Schindler’s father entered hospice, his son underwent very risky surgery, and his business plan had to shift in response to the pandemic. But he took this all in stride, consoling himself that even in the worst-case scenario there would be good. He rationalized: His son was baptized and before the age of reason, so he would go to heaven; if his father died, it would be a merciful release from his suffering; and if his business went under, he could start again. In the end, his son survived, his dad died (a mercy, he said), and the restaurant weathered the storm.   Then the second wave of trials hit, and this time it led to a radical transformation. A Shocking Diagnosis It all began close to Christmas in 2021. Schindler fell sick with COVID, spiking a fever of 104 degrees. Two weeks later, he became sick with influenza. Once he recovered, lingering signs of illness and an unexplained loss of appetite led him to see his doctor again. Examining him, the doctor discovered a lump, and after further testing, he was diagnosed with stage 3B Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The reason for his loss of appetite? He had a plethora of lymph nodes that had turned into tumors and were collectively crushing his stomach. Based on a variety of factors, including his present malnourished state, he was given a 60 to 70 percent chance of surviving. As a 30-something-year-old in peak fitness, with a wife and five kids to care for, this was the last news Schindler expected to receive. He soon began treatment, and, at the same time, began to reexamine his life. Until falling sick, the Fort Wayne businessman had lived an extremely busy lifestyle. Working 80-hour workweeks was bringing him worldly success, but he began to see more clearly what that success was costing him. Though he had experienced a reversion to the Catholic faith of his upbringing after marrying his churchgoing wife, Schindler was a lukewarm Catholic — indifferent to his spiritual growth and doing the bare minimum by attending Sunday Mass out of obligation, not love. His commitment to his work left him with little time to spend with his family. He rarely went on dates with his wife and put no effort into catechizing his children. Reflecting on how he was living his life, Schindler had an epiphany. “I realized that my primary role as a dad is to get my kids to heaven,” he told Today’s Catholic. And so, Schindler made a deal with God: He would uphold his responsibility for his children’s faith if God let him live. Faith Formation God preserved his life, and Schindler kept his promise. He began prioritizing what would help his family “get to heaven” by transitioning to 10-hour workweeks and carving out a nightly routine of learning and prayer with his family. In their 20-30 minutes of family catechesis, the Schindlers read through the Baltimore Catechism several times, learned Latin prayers, read the letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch, and began reading and discussing a chapter of the New Testament together each night. Through this, Schindler witnessed his children’s love for the faith thrive — something that brings him enormous joy. As he dealt with lingering effects of his chemo treatment, including neuropathy, Schindler embraced the concept of redemptive suffering by habitually offering up his pain for the sake of others. Little did he realize how pivotal this practice would become several months later when he began to experience his third — and most severe — wave of trials. His Greatest Trial Still immunocompromised from chemotherapy, one day, Schindler began coughing up blood. He saw a physician and was diagnosed with walking pneumonia. Then, he became septic. Informed that there was only a 30 percent survival rate among healthy individuals battling the same type of sepsis, Schindler quickly asked for his priest and received the Anointing of the Sick. He describes what unfolded next as surreal. “Nurses were running around; my wife was sobbing. … I had some antibiotic resistance from being on long-term antibiotics during chemo,” he recalled. After a week in the Intensive Care Unit, he made a miraculous recovery. But his ordeal was not over. About a week later, he began experiencing intense pain on his right side, near his ribs. Seeking medical care again, Schindler this time was diagnosed with pleurisy — an inflammation of the lining of the lungs. In order to drain the fluid accumulating between his lungs and ribs, a needle needed to be inserted into his back. As the medical staff worked to place the needle, they unknowingly punctured an artery, and Schindler began to bleed into his chest cavity. Because the symptoms were so similar to those of the pleurisy, it went unnoticed. Well, officially unnoticed. Schindler’s body noticed, and he began to experience the most excruciating pain of his life. “Dying would be merciful,” he later recalled thinking while screaming at the top of his lungs. As his lungs began to collapse and his pain reached its height, Schindler turned to the only thing he could think to do — something he had trained himself in since his second series of trials. He chose to embrace redemptive suffering. ‘Ave Maria!’ Feeling that the only way he could endure such excruciating pain was if it was being used for something good, Schindler chose to offer up his intense suffering for three seemingly hopeless causes: a baby born with half a heart, a friend’s relative who had received a terminal diagnosis and an adoptive child caught in the mix of a difficult and potentially dangerous custody situation. As the medical staff began draining fluid from his lungs, they noticed signs of internal bleeding and decided to open his chest for exploratory surgery. To do so, seven IVs were placed in Schindler’s veins. Six were inserted, but the staff struggled to place a seventh as his veins kept collapsing. By this time, Schindler had passed out from blood loss. But he shocked a nurse by waking up and immediately noticing the scapular around her neck. “You must be Catholic!” he said. “You’re awake!” she responded. “You must be Catholic!” he repeated. When she confirmed that she was, his next question was, “Have you ever heard of Guadalupe’s Mexican Grill?” She hadn’t, but she revealed to him that she has a strong devotion to Our Lady and has a tattoo of her on her back. Upon hearing this, Schindler closed his eyes and said, “Ave Maria!” The nurse jumped and told him that as soon as he cried out, “Ave Maria,” the IV needle went in as needed. He then passed out again, and the surgery was done. ‘Insane Amount of Graces’ That Schindler is alive today is nothing short of God’s providence. His internal bleeding had lasted 54 hours. The doctor later told him that he’d never seen anyone live through what Schindler had for more than six hours, nor had he even heard of someone living more than eight. “The doctor afterwards essentially said I’m the luckiest person on the planet,” Schindler told Today’s Catholic. He summed up the miracle saying, “I received an insane amount of graces.” Schindler wasn’t the only one to receive God’s grace. All three intentions for which Schindler had offered his sufferings for during the height of his agony — intentions that seemed hopeless — were fully answered. And more graces have been heaped upon him. When Schindler was diagnosed with cancer and underwent chemo, he was told he and Katie likely wouldn’t be able to have more kids. Yet last year they welcomed their sixth child — a daughter named Bernadette in honor of Our Lady of Lourdes, on whose feast day he was diagnosed. The Marian nod is very fitting for someone who chose to name their restaurant Guadalupe’s after Our Lady, and who credits his miraculous healing in part to her intercession. Refocused Priorities Today, Schindler continues to run Guadalupe’s Mexican Grill and is planning to open a new location in South Bend (his undergraduate stomping grounds) in the coming months. But after everything he has endured, he sees the business differently. “Anything I do now, I’m not really interested unless it advances the [Catholic] cause,” he shared. The restaurants themselves reflect that conviction. Their prevalent Catholic symbols include images and statues of Our Lady, “Viva Cristo Rey!” painted in large print on a wall, and photos of the pope and bishop, as well as a crucifix. Uniting his business with his faith, the father of six hopes the Holy Spirit will use his restaurant to subtly touch people’s hearts for Christ. He does well to have expectant faith; after all, he has witnessed his redemptive suffering have numerous unexpected ripple effects. “The Holy Spirit can use suffering for good,” he said about his medical ordeal. “I saw people going back to the Church, praying Rosaries. … I even had an atheist friend who started praying.” But perhaps the deepest change came closer to home. Each night, the Schindler family still gathers to pray, study the Faith and read Scripture together — a sacred routine, born from adversity, that has become a pivotal piece of deepening their faith lives. For Schindler, his mission is now simple: “My primary role as a dad is to get my kids to heaven.” Everything else — including the restaurant — comes second. The post Guadalupe’s Owner Finds Grace in Suffering appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less