I have a lot of political opinions, many of which stem from
the fact that I am a social worker. What
doesn’t get mentioned enough is that I am pretty much a social worker because I
am Catholic, and because I am Catholic I believe in life and the dignity of the
human person. So as much as I love my
profession, I am Catholic first.
I’ve always had lots of amazing friends who were Catholic
(and otherwise Christian) who really enhanced my spirituality and prayer life. But when I went to college at OSU when I was
20, for the first time ever, I gained a large group of friends who were not
particularly religious. I’ve always been
able to get along with a variety of people, so that in itself is not surprising. What I didn’t know when I was first getting
to know these people is that they would also encourage my spiritual life in
ways that I couldn’t have possibly guessed nearly a decade ago.
Even though there have been a few rifts in the group, on the
whole there is this closeness between us that is hard to explain. It’s just one of those situations where words
fail me. While we were still in college,
I was living with some other friends of mine, and we decided to throw a huge
party, and all invite our friends from other areas of our lives. Those roommates observed that this group of
friends (who I will refer to as my “Dixon” friends because we met when most of
us were living in Dixon Lodge) seemed unusually close. They said “You guys seem like a family.” And for a long time, that’s how I’ve felt
about these friends. When I’m around
them, I feel appreciated and loved for who I am, and I appreciate and love all
of them, just for who they are. I’ve
told them on camping trips around the campfire that through their love and
support in my life, they have been Christ to me. Since most of them are not Christian, I was
hesitant to say that at first for fear it might offend them, but they know me
and they seemed to understand that from me, that was really an affirmation of
how I feel about them.
Last night, one of these friends married a beautiful and
just amazing lady. I am totally crazy
about her and was pretty excited to welcome her into our “family” with open
arms. She loves him for exactly who he
is, and her love makes him a better man.
Last night, as I watched him hold her hands and look into her eyes and
give her his vows, I felt spiritually “full.”
I don’t know how to describe the feeling fully except to say that I felt
like I was brimming with pride for him.
He has always just been a great guy, but she brings out the very best in
him, and watching him last night felt like I was seeing the “him” that he’s always
longed to be.
I spent the rest of the evening celebrating and spending
time with my Dixon friends, and again, it just made me feel spiritually full to
the brim. I laughed, I caught up, I met
the girlfriend of one of them (and she’s awesome!), I spent time with all of
them who were there, and just felt re-affirmed as a person. I went home and dreamt that the reception
just went on and on and I woke up so happy today. I couldn’t stop thinking about how awesome it
was to be with those friends, rejoicing in a wonderful life-changing event for
two of those friends!
Last month, I visited another great friend of mine, who will
be my matron of honor later this year.
She lives in Lawrence, Kansas and much of her recreation is focused
around the KU Jayhawks. She was talking
about how she was at mass one Sunday, and the priest’s homily mentioned KU and
how after big wins, the streets of Lawrence flood with happy fans who celebrate
together. He was relating this to
heaven, and how when we are in heaven, we will all be celebrating and rejoicing
together: not just singing softly in
some pew, but also running around joyfully and boisterously, sharing in joy
together. Being a sports fan myself, I
rather enjoyed that image and it made me excited about going home to heaven
after this life is over.
I have to say that for me, last night was also reminiscent
of what I think heaven will be. There
will be much rejoicing, but there will also be a sense of intimacy. We will be reunited with those we love, and
we will be reunited over something great.
(In that case the something great will be that we will finally be in
full communion with God, but personally I think the union formed by a wedding
makes a great analogy!) And this makes
me even more excited to eventually get to my eternal Home.
Finally, I don’t know if Will and Caroline will ever see
this, but if you do, just know that your wedding touched me deeply, and I am so
excited for the new life you are starting!
Caroline, you are the perfect addition to our crazy “family,” and even
more importantly, the best match for Will any of us could have dreamed up. Will, one of my favorite things about our
friendship is that we can give each other crap about everything, but for once
here I will be sincere: you are an
amazing friend and human being, and the fact that you and Caroline found each
other just makes me indescribably happy!
You both deserve this kind of love!
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