The spiritual lens through which I look at the world is very much one of trust and faith. As I move deeper into my 30s, I have been gifted with the view of hindsight that stretches farther into my past and makes visible connections that were once impossibly opaque, but most certainly divinely guided. God has acted in countless ways in my life that I could not understand at the time. Some were times when the suffering seemed endless and I thought my heart would never heal, like when I got dumped by a boyfriend. Some were joyous occasions when I could not yet understand the full magnitude of that deep gift, such as getting admitted to high school at Duchesne Academy in 2001 with financial aid. Had that break up not happened at that exact moment, God could not have made room in my life for me to meet my now husband. Had I not attended high school at Duchesne, I might not be teaching theology here today. I almost certainly would not be an Associate of the Sacred Heart.
Marriage, teaching, living the charism – things that bring me so much joy today. God knew. He always knows. Being able to make these connections allows me to walk through life, both in times of joy and in times of sorrow, knowing the path is clear and I am on it, despite my blindness to the very existence of a path! And God is so good that even when I’m too dense to right my own path, he drags me back on track. Maybe in my next 30 years, I’ll figure out the signs quicker and a gentle nudge will suffice. Here’s hoping!
Kira Dodd is an educator at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Houston, Texas, and serves as the co-coordinator for the Houston Associate group. Her views expressed in this article are her own and not that of the USC Province.
