I’ve been at the Eagle Eye Institute for 2 weeks now and things might begin to slow down a little any day now. And by slow down, I mean, become familiar enough that I know exactly when I can take the time to update all my friends and family about my life here. Our first week in Princeville, we shot into life as a community by traveling to LaCrosse, Wisconsin, to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadelupe. It was a beautiful weekend and we had a lot of fun. We did some hiking, had an outdoor Mass, and visited with some very generous families who opened their homes to us. Most importantly of the weekend was that as a community, we consecrated our year in the Eagle Eye Institute to Our Lady of Guadelupe. Her image has been following us ever since.
I wanted to relate one wonderful encounter that we experienced on this first adventure together, a story which has become a running joke and dear to our hearts. On our way to Wisconsin, we visited a Polish woman in a nursing home, her name is Mary
We entered the room when she was waking up from a nap and she was still in bed while we talked with her. She had a blanket around her legs, her snowy white hair fluffy in the front and flat in the back. We asked her how she was before Father Nathan and Brother Gabriel Maria came in and her first comment was, “This is the life!” and with that she threw herself back into the embrace of her soft blankets and pillows, in a pretend swoon.
When Father Nathan and Br. Gabriel Maria came in and asked how she was she said, “I’m good….” And in a shrill voice of remorse followed it with, “But I am not a nun!!!” Then she continued, “I wanted to be a nun when I was younger and now I have 10 grandchildren!” Then in turn she stared each of us down with eagle eye contact and asked, “Are you going to be a nun???” no answer, on to the next, “Are you going to be a nun???” no answer and then turning to Agata, who is from Poland, she asked, “Are you going to be a nun????” Her Polish glare pointed fixedly at Agata, who said, “Maybe.” Mary’s face relaxed and she smiled angelically on Agata, with a wrinkled finger to Agata’s cheek, Mary said, “Maybe… she says Maybe….” And then just as suddenly and with a youthful teasing she said with the hint of a Polish accent, “Maybe… Maybe a BABY!!!... maybe a baby…” To which of course we all laughed.
There is something to be said about Mary. The first of which touches the heart of something Pope John Paul II said in “Crossing the Threshold of Hope.” On page 125 he says of himself and young people, “Even though he is getting older, they urge him to be young, they do not permit him to forget his experience…” Mary’s playful spirit and her wealth of experiences from life inspired me. Her simple statement, “Maybe… Maybe a Baby” is just another reminder of the beauty of vocation. To be called to, through your experiences, discover the reality of friendship and true love. Discovering what love is, what it means and what it costs (the cross) can only be done through our experiences. We can’t define love or friendship without first coming face to face with reality. These lived experiences can lead us into deeper truths about life, love and friendship.
This incredible journey that I’m on with the Eagle Eye Institute is giving me the opportunity to look at my life with eyes wide open to God’s will and to discover how he is calling me to love. My heart is totally His and I desire for Him to make His residence there. Pray with me, that he will show me little by little how he wishes me to love in this world. That I might dive in with both feet and no longer say “Maybe… Maybe a baby,” but firmly and concretely, “FIAT, be it done unto me according to your word!”
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