Voicing Our Dreams

Giving Voice January 2012

Last weekend, eighteen young women religious from (I think) fifteen different congregations came together in Phoenix.  We talked about our lives, our hopes and dreams, our sorrows, and just shared our stories with each other and with God.  We have much in common, and yet we have very different lives.  Part of the beauty of the group is the many ways we go about God's work.  The many different charisms of our different religious orders share that one goal: seeking God's kingdom.  I love that!

This was the prayer center we created.  We each painted a votive holder.

Another sister who was there shared the details of the weekend on her blog, The Life of a New Sister, and so I'll send you to her to read that.  She also posted the poem that we worked from all weekend, Edwina Gateley's "The Sharing" -- lovely!

Another joy of the weekend for me was the road trip!  I was the only one of the 18 who was able to drive to the gathering, and it took me across southern California and Arizona.  I made a loop, driving a little north on the way there, and then on the way back the Interstate took me along the border with Mexico.  I really love road trips (though I was exhausted when I got home), because they give me time to think, ponder, pray, sing in the car, and listen to interesting things.  

On the way there, I was feeling very small--a tiniest piece of the infinite God's wonderful created world.  The mountains did it (and the wind farms, but that's another story).  I love the mountains, and there are some gigantic ones along that road.  They seem to come right up out of the flat desert floor.  Some are beautiful and majestic, and others are really strange shapes, unexpected features in an alien landscape.  Seeing them brought me memories of growing up in Montana, surrounded by mountains.  Sometimes I forget how important they are, how they steady my soul and remind me that even the tiniest piece of creation is infinitely beloved by God.