What does it mean to be family?

Have we ever taken the time to ponder such a question?  Growing up, the pictures I drew always included my mother and father.  Even if my sister and I weren’t getting along, she was always in my picture.  I was blessed then, as I am now, for there was nothing I lacked.  I never knew what I “needed”.  But as I grew older I began to see more clearly that the love and support of family is God’s gift freely given.  It wasn’t then, nor is it now, the things I acquired that gave me the opportunities I have been blessed to receive.  It was the encouragement and support that instilled in me confidence to find the path God has carved out for me.

I am a novice with the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill, but more importantly, I am a novice learning what it means to be a member of the Dominican family.  I was blessed as a child with a family who nurtured and taught me the importance of giving of myself.  I am blessed as a woman in discernment with a family who models for me the challenges lived, and graces given, when we continue to focus on the “we” and not simply the “I”; that as big as we are, the need for one another stretches beyond our local communities.

So, I ask you what we were asked this past week…

“How important is being family for me personally as a Dominican?”  

-Chris

Novice in the Dominican Family