Looking ahead, it’s comforting to imagine our lives as one generally straight path. A simple line between Point A and Point B.
Looking back, of course, we can see the journey more clearly: a winding, zigzagging road, full of circling back, choosing new directions, and taking many a pit stop.
But far from being out of the Lord’s hands, these twists, turns, and dead ends are the very tools of His loving faithfulness.
When I think back on the years before marriage, children, and many of life’s trials, they were a time especially marked by unexpected roads: new friendships, fresh faith, and a fair share of false starts.
A Faith Awakened
The Parish Rectory was a beloved gem in our close-knit community of Shorewood.
I loved even to simply pass by.
Its perimeter was supported by graceful columns, displaying each a gold-leafed painting of the Stations of the Cross. Inset stained glass windows depicted different scenes in our Lord’s life, from birth to His ascension into Heaven, a testimony to every passerby of our one hope and salvation.
And above the entrance were the words of Christ I still remember: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you” (John 14:27).
One spring day in early high school, I visited the Rectory to inquire about preparation for my Confirmation (which is similar to a Bar Mitzvah in the Jewish faith). It was then I met Father Leahy, who became my spiritual mentor.
Under Father Leahy’s influence, my faith came alive.
He taught me how to have a deep, intimate relationship with the Lord and to live my faith “24/7.” He would read Scripture aloud to me, close the Bible, and say, “Now Joanne, aren’t those the most amazing words you have ever heard? We serve a mighty God.”
He taught me to dedicate my life to the Lord every morning and how to examine my conscience every evening.
My thirst for Jesus increased with each instruction.
I began going to daily Mass at 6:30 each morning, allowing enough time to walk to school before class. In the quiet, meditative atmosphere of the large-columned sanctuary, I knelt on soft leather kneelers with the aroma of incense gently wafting through the church.
I prayed for my family and friends. I prayed for good grades, to be asked to prom, to pass my Shakespeare or Latin exam, and to make Head Cheerleader. But amidst the countless concerns of a high school girl, I also prayed to know Jesus more and become more like Him.
The Lord was calling me to a life of devotion, but how should I best answer the call?
A year later, I thought I’d found the answer.
A Convent Call?
During senior year of high school, my friend Suzi and I confided to each other that we felt God’s call on our life to take vows and enter the Convent.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I knew that faith was to be an arching theme of my life. What could be more faithful than a nun’s service?
Suzi’s family agreed to allow her to enter a novitiate after graduation, where she would train prior to making a decision to enter the Convent.
I sought out Sr. Honoré at St. Robert’s School, where one of my half-sisters attended. She exuded warmth and love. I met with her often, learning about Convent life and the daily discipline required for a lifetime of service to the Lord.
She suggested I spend the summer following graduation at the Dominican Mother House in upstate Wisconsin. My father drove me up to the Convent House in early June.
The nun who would oversee me said, “This is a lifetime decision, Joanne, one that must be taken with great seriousness and prayer. You must be in prayer and fasting while you are here, seeking the Lord’s will for your life in earnest.”
“Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong…so you will know how wide, how long, how high, and how deep is His love.”—Ephesians 3:17-18
I spent most of my days either with the teaching nuns, with my prayer sister, or in solitude. After early morning prayer and chores, I walked the grounds of the Convent estate along the lake, praying.
My evenings were spent in the library—a large room with wood-paneled walls; huge, worn area rugs; beautiful velvet floral-patterned chairs and sofas; and soft lighting from a fireplace that covered one entire wall. The room was filled with books from floor to ceiling. A ladder on a brass rail, covered in vivid patina from use and age, took one anywhere around the room to reach the desired book. It was simply magnificent.
Despite such idyllic surroundings, I lasted only three weeks!
The Lord was quite patient with me. He gently wooed me to an understanding that my great love for Him didn’t necessarily mean He must send me either to Africa or the Convent.
I could serve Him anywhere and everywhere.
Furthermore, He gave me a deep understanding that His primary calling on my life was to be a wife and mother. With a grateful heart, I shared my decision with the Mother Superior. She smiled, took me in her arms and blessed me.
Redirected for a Purpose
When have you felt the strong hand of God blocking the way you thought you were destined to pursue?
His guidance often comes by way of shut doors.
So when He closes one, we do well to heed His halt.
This was, indeed, a spiritual marker in my life, a time of decision when I knew God had clearly guided me.
My four years of high school and abbreviated Convent Summer had set in place the very backbone of my young adult life. With all that family and friends, teachers and spiritual mentors poured into my life, I cannot help but pause here to point out how faithfully God had ordained my days and prepared me for what was to come.
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping
His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.”—Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV
Believe me, I didn’t have it all together. I did not want my high school years to end. I felt far from being prepared to make the transition into young adulthood, let alone “real” adulthood. But I knew that God calls forth the full use of our potential, and I was committed to discovering just what mine was.
Who in your young life poured into you? Think of someone in your life today who needs your mentoring now.
What early events developed your “backbone for life”? Leave a comment below to share a little of your own story with me.
