Friday, April 22, 2016

Full Circle

When Jesus resurrected from the dead, everything came full circle. His disciples finally understood what he had been alluding to for the previous three years or so. The One who raised others from the dead now was risen Himself. The One who healed so many in physical form would now allow a great multitude whom no one can count see that it is He who heals.

So it is no coincidence that in the twists and turns in our own life eventually come full circle, too. As I'm "resurrecting" this blog, I am calling to mind such events in my own life.

With Sister Pamela Catherine
Photo by Joni, our awesome hostess! We just loved her!
This past March, I attended the Idaho Catholic Youth Conference with Sister Pamela Catherine. We had a wonderful time and were inspired by the amazing teenagers we encountered there, as well as the preteens we gave a vocation talk to at one of the local Catholic grade schools. The presence of the Holy Spirit was strong at the conference...the talks, prayer time, and music continue to have a positive impact on my spiritual life.  Sister Pamela Catherine and I just loved it. I heard earlier that it was a life changing conference for the teenagers who are able to attend, and I can see why. What was extra cool about it was that my Life Teen youth minister happens to be in charge of it. Chris Kreslins ran an excellent program in Grand Rapids and I am so grateful that he is able to minister to teens on a larger scale. It was wonderful to spend time with his family too....love them!

With Chris Kreslins
Photo by Savannah Amyx
Savannah Amyx Photography
Another thing that has come full circle is that I have had my first season as the assistant coach for the track and field team at our school. I have been coaching the JV Runners as well as the varsity and JV throwers (shot put and discuss). Tomorrow is the district finals and Jackie (the head coach) and I are absolutely thrilled to have a number of the people on our team qualify for it! What started as a rebound sport after getting cut at tryouts from the high school softball team turned into throwing for a season and then running long distance for the following two seasons.....and now as a coach, I have a whole new perspective on athletics and competitions. We want to see our runners and throwers experience success, and we rejoice with them when they do, but success comes in many forms and at the end of the day, as long as they are giving 100% effort, we're proud of them.

There certainly are a lot of twists and turns in this life, but He has a way of bringing things together. I am so grateful that I didn't make that softball team!