shining the spotlight

I'm sitting here in my room in the dark, looking at the gentle glow of the new spotlight on the tree outside my window. And it hit me ... throughout my novitiate the tree outside my window has been sort of an analogy for whatever stage of discernment I find myself at. And right now, just as I am beginning a more focused period of discernment - particularly around the question of writing my letter to request vows - I am shining the spotlight on my journey so far. I am looking back at the past year and 8 months of novitiate. Looking for the areas where I've grown and changed, looking for areas that still need to be pruned or cut back, looking for places where new growth is about to come.

So it's fitting, this new spotlight on my tree.