Perhaps you don't know nuns the way I do. Maybe you think of the stereotypical mean, strict school teacher nun. Well, I've met very few of those. The majority of nuns I know are the most cheerful people I've met. They love to have fun! That includes playing games, sports, jokes, stories, singing, putting on plays, and art. I observed all of this when I was at the convent. It's really cool to see and live with women who are just bubbling with joy. A bit over a year after my time at the convent, I started college. Are the people I see at school like the nuns? Not exactly. For one thing, they don't walk around wearing veils on their heads and giant rosaries attached to their hips. Like the nuns, though, we people out in the world like hobbies and fun, be they sports or art or whatever. Now, do these things make us bubble with joy, like the nuns? I've seen that joy in people at college--they are bubbling with it--but it can be rare. Here is the thing. It isn't the games and jokes themselves that give joyful people joy, it's their dear friend, Jesus. The games and hobbies are just the tools that they use to have fun with God. Think of a family member or friend who you like to spend time with. You guys could go on a trip to Las Vegas and have a blast, but you also could just grab a coffee together and still have a blast. Now think of a person you do not like to spend time with. They annoy you or you dislike them. Imagine going to Las Vegas with them. You'd be miserable. You probably wouldn't even want to think about grabbing a cup of coffee with them. See, if you know the person, like the person, and enjoy the person, that's when you're activities become the most fun. You've got to do it with the right person. Nuns teach us that Jesus is their chosen person. The One they do everything with. They know Him, talk to Him, sing with Him, socialize with Him, cry, and laugh with Him. And what tops this all off is that this person is God... I wrote last week about how all of that material stuff will one day leave us. It can't come with us when we die. What nuns and all followers of Christ have discovered, is that these material things are just fleeting objects that we can use to befriend our Creator, or rather, the means through which He befriends us. Let's use our hobbies and objects to bring us closer to God. You like the internet? Search "Nuns Having Fun" on google images. You like sports? Remember the Man Who is cheering you on. You like art, but you're stumped on what to draw? Ask Jesus what He thinks you should draw. Enjoy parties? Think of how Christ is present in every single person you meet. See? Material things don't need to weigh us down. When we use them for God's glory, we too bubble with joy.
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AuthorJacqueline St. Clare: I spent six months in a cloistered convent, and now I'm a college student! Archives
April 2021
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