How to Become a Nun

One of my first-grade students asked me, “How do you turn into a sister”? I responded by saying, “You ask God to guide you. You listen and then follow what you hear in your heart”. She tugged at my elbow and whispered in my ear, “I’m starting to turn”.

It was through my experiences with the monastic community that I began thinking about religious life as a possibility for me. After a couple of years of discernment, I formally joined the community as a postulant.

The journey from novitiate through final commitment was bumpy and uneven. Instead of the movie version of entering religious life with shining eyes and holy music, the Holy Spirit had me fumbling around at the side door, peering inside,  hanging around at the threshold, eventually reopening the door and finally stepping through with recognition that I belonged to this life and that I found joy and fulfillment in it.

Being part of a family – “whether spiritual or natural” – reminds us that we are not alone in life or faith. How blessed are we to be a part of the imagination of God!

Ever have the experience of looking for something, like car keys or a cell phone, just to find that it’s right before your eyes? Sometimes vocations are like that.