31 Years Later...

Just a few months ago I found myself having a conversation with a friend who was convinced that true life long love didn't exist. She asked me how I could believe in this type of love if the world we live in constantly dismisses it. I explained to her that I had the most incredible exmple of this type of love in the two most important people in my life. 31 years ago my mom and dad stood at the front of St Teresa of Avila church in Grants, NM with their family and friends all around them and they pledged to love eachother forever. I'm sure it hasn't always been easy, but when I look at my parents I can see that it has always been worth it. 

People often tell me that I live in a fairytale when it comes to love and that I am just too picky. Well maybe I do live in a fairytale, but I am confident that if my vocation is marriage that my prince is out there somewhere. See, one man has set incredible standard for love in my book and I'm not about to settle on something less than what he has showed me. 

My father would give the world for my mother. I have one memory in particular of the love my dad has for my mom that I constantly refer back to. 

As many of you probably know, when I was in high school my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember sitting in the room when she was diagnosed and feeling like my world came crashing down. During the next months my dad would be her support throughout the whole journey. My dad would go with her to every doctor appointment, to chemotherapy, and would help her function around the house. My dad would show me everyday what love was, but one day in particular captured my heart. It was the day of my moms surgery and family had come from all over to be there in the hospital with us. Mom had just gone into surgery and we were told she would be there for awhile. Someone suggested that we should go have a quick bite to eat so we could be back when she was finished. I remember my dad saying that he was going to stay back and wait for my mom. Something I always think about is that my dad chose to stay even though he knew he wouldn't be able to do anything he would sit and wait. The important thing was that he was there for her if she needed him and when she returned he would be right there waiting. 

That is the type of love that we need more of in this world, and maybe if we had more of it we would have more lasting marriages or at the very least we would have more people willing to strive for that love. In that moment my dad showed me what it was like to love like Christ. To be willing to sacrifice everything for your beloved and to truly expect nothing in return. That day and so many days before and after my daddy showed me what agape really is. He created a standard in my head of what love should be. 

Happy 31st Anniversary Mom and Dad. May God bless you with many more years!!!

Totus Tuus; An Unbreakable Bond

Last summer I was blessed to be part of a wonderful Missionary Program called Totus Tuus. Not only was I able to serve teenagers, grow in faith, and meet some of the greatest people I was able to do it in my favorite Diocese (The Diocese of Cheyenne). Many things happened last summer; my patience was tested, I learned so much about myself, I met some teens that I would be blessed to journey with in the last year, and I made three friends that might as well be family.

For those of you who don't know, as a Totus Tuus Missionary you spend every minute of every day with your teammates. Not even kidding, at a lot of homes my female teammate and I even shared a bed. 

I am confident in saying that my male teammates Keith and Dylan will FOREVER hold a special place in my heart. They are two of the most incredible men I know and truly show me what it is like to be Christ to the World. It doesn't matter how often I see them or how frequently we talk, I know at the end of the day my brothers are there to support me and pray for me whenever I need them.

Although the entire team became part of my heart I have a very incredible bond with my female teammate Jacquie. See, before the summer started Jacquie and I had been roommates in college, we took classes together, and we worshiped together. None of that would prepare us for the bond that we were about to create as summer missionaries. Jacquie became my person. Whenever I was upset, happy, excited, angry, hurt, or joyful Jacquie was the one I talked to about it. See we talked about a lot of things as a team, but there are some conversations that took place in our bedroom before calling it a night that would forever change the woman I am today. I am proud to say that during Totus Tuus I found my sister that I never had and one of my best friends in this world. It blows me away that a year after our summer of service we are still just as close as before and every time we see each other we just pick up right where we left off. Jacquie constantly challenges me to be a better person and to love people like Christ loves them. And the funny thing is that she probably doesn't even realize that she is doing it.

I am beginning to realize just how important friendships like these are. To have men and women in your life who see you as their sister and truly want whats best for you is such an incredible thing. Although we may have our differences from time to time spending the summer with my teammates truly was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I hope each of you have found or will find a group of friends who challenge you to be a better person each and every time you interact with them.