revgal friday five: surprised by joy

It's been awhile since I've played the Revgalblogpal Friday Five. This week, Songbird gives us the topic of joy:

Tell us about five people, places, or things that have brought surprising, healing joy into your life.

Here's my list.

1. I clearly remember the moment when I realized ... "I could become a Sister." The idea had been in the back of my head for ages, but I kept pushing it away. At the same time, I was discerning my call to work for justice and serve God & God's people. Then one day, in the bathroom at work washing my hands of all places, the two pieces fit together. The sink was right next to the window and I swear a ray of sunshine (a "sunbreak" as we call them in the rainy northwest) shined through at that exact moment, matching the joy in my heart. Of course the moment was brief, I had to go back to the mundane bureaucratic grind, and the journey still continues.
   
   
2. Sitting in my room at West Coast Groovy Sister HQ on the eve of my first ever vocation retreat. I'd just finished reading Peace Pays a Price, a biography of our groovy founder Margaret Anna Cusack. I was in awe at her thirst for peace through justice, her determination, and the women who followed in her footsteps. I had been praying to Jesus to help me find the place where I made the most sense ... could this be it?
   
   
3. Driving home in the car from my first Groovy Sister Province Assembly. My face and stomach muscles hurt so much ... from laughing my ass off with nuns the previous two days. I was so happy.
   
   Now for some non-vocation related sources of surprising joy.
   
   
4. Visiting my mother in the nursing home for the last time a month before she died. I didn't know it was the last time, but I think we both knew it was the last time. We had a wonderful grand old chat, discussing everything and nothing. I left for the airport trying to hide the tears in my eyes - I'm sure she was doing the same in her bed. They were tears of sadness, but they were also tears of joy for all she'd been in my life - from being the source of my life to guiding light - and for the chance for one last great chat.
   
   
5. Playing with my nieces and nephews, god-son & god-daughter, and assorted munchkins of friends. I don't feel called to parenthood myself, but I make an awesome aunt/godmother if I do say so myself. Kids are so wise in their grasp of the present moment. They laugh, they play, they make a mess. It's so much fun joining them in those explorations - particularly when you can give them back when you're done!