Life in a Nut Shell

I was born and raised in a typical, but loving, family. Being the middle of three kids was hard, but only because I always wanted everything to be equal and fair. My wise parents constantly had the phrases: "Life's not fair!" and "The [County] fair's in August." in their back pockets. I went to a public school from Kindergarten until Sophomore year of high school. I had started to grow in my faith when my mom began attending Daily Mass. I wanted to grab ahold of whatever seemed to be making her a better woman. I will be forever grateful that God took my great uncle into His arms that 8th grade year, because I later found out that my mom was offering Mass every day for the repose of Uncle Jerome's soul. 

When sophomore year rolled around, I was yearning for a better faith environment while, at the same time, my parents were planning to transfer my sister and I to the Catholic school in town.  Junior and Senior year came and went, but in the middle of it all, I had discerned that God was calling me to be set apart from the world...I was blessed to hear His call to enter religious life. I met with a great priest during my senior year and went on a Discernment Retreat with a beautiful and Orthodox community of Sisters striving for holiness. 

I was living the religious life for over a year when God had told my heart that it was not the right time for me. I was in the second stage of discernment with the Sisters when I felt that I was not ready to live the Life and that I needed to return home and attend college. 

I came home last November, lived at home for a month, and started school at the University of Real World in Somewhere, North Dakota. The first semester was, honestly, the hardest 4 months of my life. Transitioning back into the world was a lot harder than I anticipated. In retrospect, I'm thankful for the opportunities that God allowed for me to grow in many ways. I learned a lot, and I'm going to take it all with me as I return again in a few short weeks.

Which leaves me with this post...Simply put, I'm Striving for Holiness by giving my life to Him, the One Who died for me. 

And that's:

God love all of those who join me as I post about my journey through life!