God Reveals Himself to Us, Day by Day

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”.

Matthew 18:3

After leaving the minor seminary when I was 17, I always had this sense that there was an unfilled spiritual vocation. A few years after my mother passed away, when I was I in my 20’s, a friend of hers named Rose approached me one Sunday after Mass and conveyed to me a rather strange story.  Rose told me that Mom had a shared a dream with her where I was standing clothed in a white robe holding a lighted candle.  She had no idea what this meant, and this sounded weird to me, although I tucked this away in my memory – more about that later.  

In last Sunday’s reflection, I left off when I was working as a Pharmacy Tech at University Hospital, making little money, but enjoying working daytime hours, compared to the MetLife requirements. It was great having every evening at home, with the routine of family supper, and later with kids, homework, baths, going to bed, with a little prayer at bedtime.  Weekends were always free to do shopping and yard work on Saturdays, with Mass and family time on Sunday.  Life was good! 

Part of the Pharmacy Tech job description involved delivering floor stock to the various nursing units.  Gradually, I came to know the various hospital departments, managers, and employees. Little did I know then how this was preparing me for my next position at University, which would take me into healthcare management.  

When I had over five years of service with the hospital, I knew change was coming, but not quite sure how that might materialize.  Three years earlier, at Stephanie’s prodding, I enrolled at Augusta Law School, an accredited law school, which closed in the 1980’s.  I’d always had a fascination with History and Law, thinking a legal career might be in God’s plan for me.  For three years, I attended sessions there evenings a week, while working full time and pitching in with two kids at home with Stephanie.  I was fortunate that the Dean of the School, State Court Judge Eugene Kerr, was our primary professor, with attorney Jack Long in a supporting role.  Judge Kerr taught us legal principles using a seemingly endless supply of humorous tales of cases, mostly from his experience in legal practice in Augusta.  Nevertheless, through the grace of God, law school graduation happened. A career change was coming, and it took an impromptu lunch with the hospital employment manager to shed light on God’s plans for me.   

More to come…

“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”.

Psalm 118: 24

Have a Blessed Week!

Joe