Once upon a very long-ago time, I was living on East 48th Street in Manhattan. Midtown, they call it, (I had so much to learn!), and I was living with the writer Kurt Vonnegut and the photographer Jill Krementz as their nanny.
I learned a lot about life in New York that fall—about their life, certainly, about being one person among thousands on those crazy-busy streets—but most important of all, I learned about me. I learned about who I was, and who I was called to be, because while I was there I went on retreat.
That long-ago nanny from North Dakota is deeply grateful to her employers. Were it not for them, she may not have met St. Ignatius.
The story of my life had its climax that week. That retreat, based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, was to have such a profound effect on my soul and my outlook, that I dropped out of college; wandered about France for a year; re-enrolled in college; met and married my husband.
There’s much, much more to the story, of course. You get the gist—my life really changed.
If I were to win the lottery, (do you ever dream about winning the lottery?), I would establish a fund to send people on retreat. It would have to be the Spiritual Exercises, though. I’d be just that controlling a philanthropist because I know that their lives would be transformed.
Transformation in Christ at the hands of one man, one saint.
Please God, I cannot wait to meet him.
Really? Kurt Vonnegut?
Kurt Vonnegut caused you to encounter St. Ignatius?
That's… incredible.
So it goes.
You CAN wait. You might wish you did not have to, but you can and will. 😉
I feel that way about so many saints. I love to talk to them in my head (and often out loud). It is a great thing to look forward to — being in the company of God's favorite people.
OK, I had to read that first sentence a few times. How did you get THAT gig?!
I was working at the Interlochen Arts Academy as an intern in their news bureau. Jill came to take pictures for her book A Very Young Musician and I was asked to be her assistant.
The rest, as they say, is… : )
Beautifully said, as always, Margaret.
I can't wait to talk to Saint Bernadette and
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla.
Gail
Do you play the lottery? We say here, too, "If I should win the lottery…" but we don't actually play. 🙂
I love KV's books and I'm holding myself back here from going all fangirl on you and asking a million questions. If you can't tell.
You wanna do a playdate soon?
That is wild! I have read Consoling the Heart of Jesus and it was an fantastic book. What an amazing work history – that definitely beats out my job at as a Panakoeken Restaurant hostess wearing the Dutch costume!
Excellent book if one us unable to go on a retreat. Just tajes this book to adoration.
Wow, what a story. Love it. Love what he means to you.
Good heavens. I thought I'd brushed fame because I met Muriel Humphrey at the Minnesota Newspaper Convention when I was a small child.