Becoming Catholic

Today I read at church by myself!  It was two readings and the psalm, usually my sister and I read together and we each took one, but since she moved to college, (and has little interest in us now) I had to take matters into my own hands and read by myself.

My faith in God is one thing that stayed consistent throughout most of my life.  When I was little I went to a Methodist church with my grandparents, and then when I was 8 (11 and a half years ago) my sister and I became Catholic.

I remember the first time I walked into the church on the first day of kindergarten, I thought it was the most spectacular building on the face of the earth and I was in awe.  I used to say it happened all by ourselves, because my dad was never a religious man and mom was baptized a year after my sister and I were.  We kind of did it backwards, but it made the most sense for our family.

Few things I remember from that weekend:

• I refused to try on my dress and it was apparently the wrong dress but we were too late to return it.  I still really liked my dress, but mom was not happy.
• We baptized all of our baby dolls.
• Before the Easter Vigil (aka the longest mass of the year where all of the baptisms happened in which the person being baptized speak for themselves that did not start until 9 PM) the microphone made a real deep scratching noise and my uncle, who is now my Godfather, leaned over and whispered “That sounded like a moose!”  Then it was a game of trying not to laugh which failed miserably.  Still my favorite story of my uncle!
• There was a skunk outside.
• And I almost fell off the stool while getting baptized.

I had my first communion a month later.  Once we started going there regularly it was a second home, full of people who made many great memories with me.  I remember lots of vacation bible schools where the older kids and parents chased us around the buildings.  They decorated the school gym so it was themed to whatever the theme was for that year.  I always look forward to going to the Christmas Eve 5 PM mass to see all the people I went to school with in one spot and to catch up, even though at this point they are all spread throughout the US.    I was even able to go to the National Catholic Youth Conference a few times! 

Now years later I still sit in the same pews reading to the congregation, and I couldn’t help but to smile as I thought of all of the wonderful people who helped me become the woman I am today.  People who gave me rides home, long conversations, a helping hand to peel me off the ground, holding doors, the occasional standing up for me, and most importantly these people truly helped me grow. Even now as an adult, and most of the people my age are on to collage I still feel at home. Needless to say I could not imagine my life without them! 

I was honored to be able to read this morning, and do services for the church and the people who helped me throughout my life, even though I said “The Lord of the Word” instead of “The Word of the Lord”

God bless you always!