I grew up in a big French-Canadian Catholic family in a small town in Saskatchewan. A big family meant over twenty sets of uncles and aunts and many, many cousins. There was lots of love to go around and I grew up always feeling loved and feeling that I belonged. Subconsciously I sought this love and sense of belonging wherever I went. When I started university, I found this sense of belonging with a campus missionary group called Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO). I was free to grow in my faith and to get to know Jesus on a personal level.
Then a few years later after I served on a missionary team where I was able to share that love of Jesus with others, I began to discern my vocation. I wanted to know in what vocation I would be happiest and where I would feel loved and that I belonged. I saw that my siblings were finding their vocation in marriage and beginning their own family. There was a tug in my heart, a desire to ask God ’who is my family?’ And in that very moment, He responded, ‘I am your family. You belong with me.’ There was an immediate peace in my heart. I sensed that I had come home to love. I sensed this was God’s way of revealing to me my vocation to be solely His as His beloved bride. He captivated my heart. I felt a deep peace. I felt loved and that I had found my home, where I belonged! I didn’t hesitate and responded to be His entirely! I found my family in Him.
