New Beginnings

It is incredulous, almost overwhelming, to think that we are in a new month. It’s not just a new month, but for many a new year as they return to school. September 1 also says summer is just about over.

Summer is a time for refreshment and renewal, a time when supposedly things slow down a little. It’s an opportunity to reflect on how we are living our lives. Things were anything but slowing down for us. Among many other things I was getting set to return to Mexico for a mission week with young women interested in our Community as well as other vocation promotion work. Then suddenly my life came to what seemed like a screeching halt. I needed several tests and ultimately a biopsy, I soon learned how interminable a week can be when you are waiting for results realizing that your life could change dramatically.

I didn’t get to go on vacation or retreat this summer. That will have to wait. But I did get some time for reflection. Health crises can remind us of how much we take for granted.

I have always been grateful for my good health, but will now be even more so. I also had a chance while waiting in hospitals and doctors offices to think about how many people don’t always get good results. Their lives do change dramatically. Not only theirs, but their loved ones as well. I also thought of how many people have neither adequate health care nor the insurance to pay for it.

In some ways I begin the Fall with a sense of newness. Thank God my biopsy was negative, and I have a whole new sense of gratitude for my health and for the support I received.

I’m also beginning this new month by having been able to return to Mexico. This weekend we’ll have a discernment retreat with our ST brothers at their novitiate in Huitzila, possibly a new beginning for the young men and women who will be attending as they discover their calling in life. Please keep them and the Team in your prayers.

There’s so much to be grateful for.