The Fullness

In my case, neglect of the blog has been purposeful.  We have not been void of fun family time, wonderful extended family Christmases, or daily craziness of snowmen building, sledding, ice skating, cookie making, Lego building, or American Girl hair brushing.  We have been doing it all, I assure you.  Our kids are wonderful, happy kids that although at times need to be "redirected" in some of their actions, they are our greatest joy, hands down.

In my case, the long hiatus from writing has been a direct effect of an increase in my reading.  I have been devouring books of a certain subject matter with a vengeance.  Listening to podcasts, searching the internet, and holding onto my Nook like it is a piece of priceless treasure.  So frankly, I haven't had time. But even more frankly, Kevin and I have been in the midst of a life changing season that we have felt was not appropriate to talk about until we knew what our path would be.

Even now, our decision is not entirely official.  It can't be, for practical reasons, for another year or so.  But I have come to a place where I am confident enough in what I have read and learned, barring a "Saul of Tarsus moment,"  that I feel compelled to write about it here, on a personal blog. 

So here it is.  Kevin and I have looked into, searched, attended, and finally, fallen in love with the Catholic Church and the Catholic Faith.  Over the course of the last several years, we believe that the Lord, through many avenues, has gently led us to the doors of the Church.  And once we braved up and went in, (which took a while), we were confronted and encouraged that the Truth the Catholic Church calls the "Fullness of the Faith," not only existed in the books we were studying, but was alive and powerful within the Church, as well. Basically, in layman's terms, we have read our way into the Catholic church.  Pure and simple.

I won't go through all of the reasons of why we have decided to become Catholic.  If people are truly interested, I would like nothing more than to have a conversation.  But I am not an apologist, and don't pretend to be one.  In fact, it has been such a process that although I am confident, it would be difficult for me to pinpoint exactly what was the final trigger.  It was built upon by many authors, many questions, and many different reasons.  It started with books, and has landed in the beauty of Sunday morning Mass.

To those, like family and close friends who may at the least be surprised, and at worst, angered, I felt like we needed to to address it now rather than later when we enter into full communion, officially.   So I will say this to those that we love, and we care so much for.  We thank you with all that we have for introducing us to Jesus, to the Bible, and a love for Him.  Our childhoods were filled with nothing but the greatest examples of parents, Grandparents, and siblings of the Love of Christ and his Gospel.  And we are not rejecting that.  Our lives have been enriched by what we have found, our marriage has been strengthened, our prayer lives have deepened, and our love for Christianity has multiplied, profoundly.

If not for the peace that I have in Catholicism, I wouldn't wish a conversion on my worst enemy.  Conversions are difficult, incredibly lonely at times, and faith shaking to the core.  Becoming Catholic was definitely not one of my life goals.  In fact, not even on the "maybe, possibility" list.  It just wasn't an option.  Or a thought.   Which is why I am as shocked as anyone else that I am even writing this post.  But then, I believe that if we let Him, God will lead us where He wants, not where we intended to go.

I'm not going to turn my blog into a Catholic apologetics site.  I will quickly get back to the business of kid pictures, fun adventures, and hopefully a vacation sooner, rather than later.  But before that, I wanted to share the greatest joy that I have found in my life of faith.

We love you all, and hope that this can in some way be encouraging.