This year has brought with it a lot of pain, loss, heartache, and lots and lots of anxiety in everyone. But, it has also brought joy, fulfillment of a life-long dream, time to consider what's really important in life, and the direction to continue our journey on the other side of two mountain ranges and lots of land in between!
This year I have made my life promises, or vows, as a Benedictine Oblate with St. Placid Priory in Lacey, Washington! It is the fulfillment of something that has held my heart since I was a teenager, and longed to live a life as a consecrated nun! My ways of worship have travelled many miles and I have been blessed with experiences so uniquely different throughout my life, each of them adding more depth to my spiritual walk. But in the end (not really end, more like my last commitment towards), I end up back where I started, the Roman Catholic Church! There were many years where I felt at complete odds with the Catholic Church, and couldn't reconcile my beliefs, or understandings, with those I thought they believed. The whole time, I never left the side of Jesus, and God has been the cornerstone that has kept my foundation from completely crumbling apart all together!
In this blog, I would like to share my journey with you, the reader. I have had the most amazing adventures throughout my life, and I believe that my life is only halfway begun! I have had blessings too many to count, and heartaches and trials that brought me to my knees and almost killed me! But what do you expect when living this life of a human on a planet, for so many years? It is not only the good and cherished memories that should be called blessings. It is also the horrid, terrifying, crying your eyes out like you have a river coming out of your head memories, that are considered blessings because of what they bring to your life and what they take out of your life. It takes every single life experience to make the person that you are today. If I hadn't made some horrible choices, and suffered greatly, I would have never ended up with my husband and living in Washington State!
So...back to 2020! This year has brought about the completion of at least the physical appearance of my body, after surviving breast cancer in 2019! But we will talk more about that in another blog post! This year has brought so much grief, and too much death! It has brought to the light the amount of hate and anger that has probably lingered in the shadows for too long! There is something that happens when you turn on a light switch in a dark room. The things that were once hidden in the dark, come to the forefront and can be seen plainly. It is extremely heartbreaking to see, but at least now we can see that it is there and we can begin the process of healing hearts, spirits, families, relationships, communities, the nation, and ultimately the world. Take heart, my fellow sojourners, it is always darkest right before the dawn! Let us start this very hard path towards wholeness, by taking baby steps. Let us start smiling more at strangers. When you see someone struggling, lend a hand, even if it is just a little bit. When you look around and see signs that seem to be yelling out political statements, think twice. They are merely painted letters on a banner. Put it aside and consider if there is anything, even one thing, that you might have in common with the person or people behind that banner. It could be as little as the fact that you both are breathing the same air that God has given you. It could be that you are both having a hard time to know what to say to each other, or how to live in such a trying time. Perhaps this is where we can begin to build the bridges by a little smile and something nice to say, like "have a good day!"
Let us begin our long journey, through the darkest night, together instead of apart! And with that, I bid you, fare thee well my fellow sojourners! Until next time! And may God warm your heart and keep you safe through the night!
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