Well, here we are nearing the end of March and my absence from this blog has been going on for entirely too long. Little did I know that my transition home would be harder for me than I had anticipated. I have had completely mixed emotions ranging from loving to hating being back in the small town I had grown up in. My parents have been so kind to take me back in to their home again and for that I am grateful. One of things I have really struggled with since I moved back to Monroe is that I have really felt a lack of community. In KC, I was absolutely blessed with the Catholic community that I was surrounded by. It was a constant. I had people every day who I could go to Mass, Confession, Bible Studies with.... people who wanted to help me grow in my faith daily. I had people praying for me everywhere I turned. My roommates/friends/FOCUS community were a constant reminder of what it meant to truly live my life as a Catholic daily. Moving back to Monroe, I felt very lonely because I did not have that connection with the members of my parish or the people I grew up with. I recently went on a Christ Renews His Parish weekend which is held for the two parishes in my hometown and it was such an absolute blessing. For the past four months I have prayed and prayed to have that sense of community again. Not only that, but also for God to help me find my place as a young adult in my parish. Through this weekend he not only answered my prayers but showed me ways and opened my eyes to the people I need to minister to, love and serve daily.
Thankfully, my friends in KC are really good about keeping in touch through texts, calls, and even the old fashioned snail mail. One of them mentioned to me the following Bible verse which helped me to understand why it must be this way.
"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." -Matthew 28:19-20
And so we must.
