A Joy-Filled Encounter: Edel 15

St. Rose of Lima- stain glass window, location unknown.

Now, I’m no mother yet- but I hope to be one day. And so of course, I made every effort to “sneak” into a Catholic women’s conference for mom’s when I found out my good friend Hallie Lord was hosting it in Charleston and one of my best friends, Valerie was going to be there with her baby.

Now don’t go off and worry about me just yet. I really am quite happy to patiently wait for a family, but it was such a beautiful experience to walk alongside these incredible women who are living out their vocations in so many different ways. The stories I heard were alternately hilarious and tear-jerking. This whole mom thing is not for the faint of heart!

Mostly, as a woman, I am so thankful that God chose us to embrace and receive mankind. We get to harbor life under our lungs for 9 months, breathing love in and out until we hold it in our arms. (Or maybe we go pursue life and adopt it into our homes!) And then for the rest of our lives we shelter, clothe, teach, embrace and spill out the contents of our hearts for our children.

Knowing that I have no babes of my own, I often wonder how my motherhood will facilitate itself. It may only be a spiritual motherhood, like many religious, if I’m not able to bear children of my own. Or maybe God will call me to retrieve the children he has for me from around the world. Who knows? Or maybe, as I joke with Mr. Davies… we’ll just start an orphanage and have many MANY children!

No matter what- there is joy to be had in the finding of my vocation as a mother. As a wife. As a woman. And I am so thrilled to have been a witness to so many stories from saints in the making.

Love, Hannah

PS. The image above is St. Rose of Lima. She was the Saint I received on the medal that was my pass to events. Turns out she’s the first Saint of the Americas- an incredibly beautiful woman who chose to hide her exterior beauty and instead focus on the beauty of the Christ child in her soul. (If she were living now, I’d say… “You rock that, girlfriend”.- just like all the Edelites are doing now!)