Cobblestones on the Path

If you think of life as a journey, and the journey to heaven as a path, then the events in your life could be considered cobblestones.  The stones line up, or meander here and there, but eventually you get where you're going--if you stay on the path!

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If you ever wonder if God has a plan for your life, you're not alone.  All of us question where we are headed.  Sometimes it feels like we're given a dream, only to have it snatched away and changed into something completely unexpected.  Often it feels like we have an emptiness that we don't quite know how to fill.

In my case it was the latter.

Ever since childhood my dream was to be married and have a big family.  Dream come true.

While there was a definite path leading up to my marriage, the part of the path I'm going to focus on comes after the wedding.  In the first 4 years of our marriage we had three children.  During our break between children #3 and #4, God distinctly told me to sign up for nursing school.  So I did!  

Six years, and 2 additional children later, I was a nurse.  I had no idea when I would get to use my degree, but I had it!  

Along the line, God told me to homeschool our children. So I did!  

I loved teaching and learning.  How much I had  missed in my own school experience, especially in the area of my Roman Catholicism.  My love for Christ and His Church bloomed into daily Mass attendance and frequent reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and my prayer life bloomed as well.  As I taught the children, I learned about  quite a few wonderful Saints that I had not previously known. 

About four years ago, God told me to become the nurse manager of a new ultrasound clinic that our local crisis pregnancy center was opening.  So I did!  

I get to counsel clients and do ultrasounds for women experiencing unplanned pregnancies. 

In February of 2011, God told me to start this blog.  So I did! 

All these things brought me great fulfillment.  But, in 2012, I started to feel like there was something missing.  I had this feeling that something was coming but I wasn't sure what it might be.  So, I began to pray and pray and pray.  

Last July, my dear one signed me up for a mom's retreat that was being hosted by the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.   While I was on the retreat, spending time with other moms and the wonderful, joyful Dominican nuns, the Mother Superior gave a talk in which she listed many Dominican Saints--some of whom I had learned to love during our homeschool days.  

And then . . . a friend of mine told me she was joining the Lay Dominicans . . . and my heart melted!  I knew this was what God was calling me to do.  

What do Lay Dominicans do?  They bring Christ to others through, among others things, writing.  They minister to people in the community through, among other things, counseling women in crisis pregnancies. They attend daily Mass and pray frequently throughout the day.  They study their faith so that they can better share it with others. All of my cobblestones, lining up!!

So, I have begun my journey into the Lay Dominican community.  My heart is full and happy.  The empty feeling is gone.  

If you are searching for what God has planned for you, don't give up!! PRAY, PRAY, PRAY.  (Remembering that prayer often means LISTENING!)  God will lead you as surely as He has lead me. 

Please pray for me on my journey.  I will be praying for all of you.  

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