So what makes a 20 year old University of New Mexico college sophomore (with no prior coursework in theology) sign up for a junior level theology class entitled "The Reformation"? I don't know. It sounded interesting...and I wanted a challenge! I learned an immense amount of history in that class, and it definitely challenged me as I had never been challenged before. I always felt like I was at a disadvantage in that class as it was made up of juniors and seniors with prior experience in other theology classes, and I used to wonder what in the world I was doing sitting in that class. However, I was determined to make the most of my college experience and learn as much as I could. I wanted to learn about the early Church and the course description just struck me! The truth is that upon looking back, God had a plan for me all along as he does for everyone. It's just whether or not we're listening and decide to follow.
The most ironic part was that at the time, I was a half-hearted cradle Episcopalian whose parents delved heavily into the occult. I would say occult activity was much more prominent in my childhood household than the teachings of the Episcopal church. So, I guess like a lot of society at large, I believed a little of this and a little of that. At the time of signing up for my Reformation class, I was a new bride and my groom was a cradle Catholic. He was a sport as I dragged him to Episcopal churches, but as he once told me, "Catholicism is in my blood. It's cultural. I'm not switching." He supported my desire to stay Episcopalian if that was my wish, but I decided to visit Catholic churches with him to see just how different they really were. I knew that once we had children, I wanted them to be raised in one faith. I never wanted them to be confused about their faith...and I certainly did not want to introduce them to the occult.
I can honestly say that growing up, I always attached myself to the Episcopal church and Christian teachings much more than astrology, numerology, psychics, tarot cards, or the new age movement. I knew where the truth was - and I knew it sat in the Catholic Church. I don't know how I knew that, but I did. As a teenage girl, I used to wonder how I would one day become Catholic. I think I always knew it was inevitable, but I used to wonder how it would come about. As my parents took me to the Unity Church, I asked them to go back to the Episcopal Church. That was always met with answers like, "we've moved past that now." When I was a junior in high school, I asked my parents to go to midnight mass at the local Episcopal Church and I was given a definitive "no". I got myself dressed up and drove myself to midnight mass that year. As I sat in the half empty church I wondered why more people weren't there...why more people couldn't see the beauty and truth in Christianity. I prayed for my parents that night that they would find their way back to Jesus.
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| My husband and I on the UNM campus, 1990 |
