Back to Reality

I'm back from vacation and back to reality.  That used to mean catching up on emails and setting up meetings to find out what happened at work when I was gone.  Now it means back to talking about my vocation!  It was kind of strange in that on vacation, no one knew me as "that girl who is going to the convent" - everyone just viewed me as a normal tourist.

It used to be very difficult for me to talk about my vocation because I viewed it as a very personal matter.  It was what I was called to for my life.  As I became more sure that this was what God was calling me to, I had to start talking about it a little bit more, and only then did I realized that it was not simply my calling.  While I was ultimately the one to respond to God's call, it was only possible because it was cultivated through the prayer and faith formation from the communities that I have been part of. 

This journey is possible because of the couple who told me "we have been praying for vocations for years but we didn't realize we were praying for you!".  It's a result of the high school friends who weren't afraid to show their faith and invited me to youth ministry events.  It's present in the non-Catholic co-worker who opened up about her own life and faith upon learning about the reason I was quitting.  It's reflected in the woman who sent me a letter from her nursing home telling me that she prays for me and my family daily. 

The family, youth ministers, teachers, colleagues, campus ministers, friends, priests, and random strangers who have taught me about the faith or who have prayed for me are part of this vocation.  God did not grant me the beautiful gift of being a sister for me.  The vocation that is unfolding is our journey and I for one can't wait to see where it leads.