Exclamation Point

Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.  St. Catherine of Sienna

It was a big weekend.  We made our last 6 hour drive to Franciscan University to see Shannon.  After four years that seemed to go by in a blink, we now have a nurse.  God had such a powerful  hand in it all and I am so thankful.  I could write and write about all the little things along the way that just fell in place.  More times than I could count I shook my head in surprise, gratitude and awe as one thing after another made it possible for her to get an education at Franciscan.  God wrapped it all up with an exclamation point on Saturday.

Franciscan has one of the countries top nursing programs which was appealing to Shannon but the University offers something so powerful for the soul.  It’s a place of holiness and deeply rooted faith and Catholic tradition.  She wanted to feed her mind, her heart and her soul.  She knew as a sophomore in high school that she wanted to go there but academically, financially and geographically there had to be some “figuring out.”  About the time she started praying about the possibility of going to school there she was preparing for her Confirmation.  She had a couple of saints in mind to choose as her Confirmation Saint but three times in the same week the above quote from Catherine of Sienna appeared in her life.  Once in history class, once on a random note that fell from a library book and then on a surprise bracelet she got int he mail from a friend.  She asked God for specific guidance, and he certainly didn’t disappoint. It turns out that Catherine of Sienna is also the patron saint of nurses.

As the process continued toward Franciscan, crazy things happened like scholarships that came out of nowhere and details and events that just pointed the way.  Again and again there were blessings and surprises that made it so clear that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.  Each time we just smiled and said thank you!  There were experiences and people and opportunities that just seemed to fall into her lap all along the way and as we sat in Finnigan Field-house for Commencement Saturday morning the Keynote Speaker opened with all the traditional greetings appropriate for the occasion.  Then something that melted my heart happened.  He looked out at the graduates and paused for a moment and then said, “Graduates, If you will leave this place today and be who God meant you to be, you will set the world on fire.  St. Catherine of Sienna wasn’t kidding about that!”  I could hardly keep the tears back.  It was like a giant explanation point on an amazing college journey.  God is so very good!

A Seed To Plant:  Are you being who God intended you to be?  It’s a question worth asking in prayer this week.​

Blessings on your day!