So I left off the last blog with having decided in the fall of 2005 in my head that I should go to seminary for discernment purposes. (For those who don't know discernment is the word for figuring out what God wants you to do. In this case : What is my vocation in life? But it could be discerning anything, who to marry if you are called to marriage, what school to go to, what job to take, or any such thing. God gives us free will, but our lives are best if we figure out what He wants from us)
In January of 2006 I went on a service trip/ mission trip to Haiti with a group from the Newman Parish. I loved the trip and think that we did some wonderful things on that trip... And saw things that we could share with others in a way that may be able to help the people of Haiti. I did and do consider the trip helpful in my discernment. I believe that this helped an already present love of others to grow in me.
After the time in Haiti I decided to tell a couple of people about my decision to apply for seminary. I told only two or three people. Then, less that a week after that, quite spontaneously I found myself asking out a wonderful young woman who was already a great friend of mine.
I guess that starting to date her really put moving in the direction of applying for seminary on hold. It didn't stop the discernment, but added another dimension to it. We were able to talk about discernment and grow in love for God through our love for each other.
At various times during our relationship I felt more like I was being called to marry her and at other time I felt like we should break up so that I could more fully discern where God was calling me.
I went on with school and the relationship and the discernment. As graduation neared in the spring of 2007 I found a job as a forester for the US Army Corps of Engineers doing forestry on the islands and flood plain areas of the Mississippi River near home. This job would lead to a great potential for a permanent position with the Corps if I took it and delayed graduation until December. So I did that. After graduation I was offered a permanent job with the Corps as a park ranger in Kentucky. I took that job to stay as a permanent and hope for a transfer back home some day.
While in Kentucky I was able to maintain a wonderful relationship through frequent visits back home and telephone calls. I started to think that God may truly be calling me to marriage, but I still had nagging doubts in the back of my heart that I prayed about frequently.
In the fall of 2008 while in Kentucky I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. I felt very blessed that if I was going to get cancer it would come at this time when I had a wonderful job that could be flexible for the treatment and gave me wonderful insurance to cover the expenses. I also was blessed that if I was going to have cancer it was this treatable of a type. Another blessing was my wonderful family, friends, and girlfriend to support me through this both physically and in prayer.
The surgeries for the cancer went well and in January of 2009 I was transferred in a scheduled move to Tennessee with the Corps still as a park ranger. I was excited for this move because I moved very near Nashville where the is stuff to do all the time, a number of Catholic churches to choose from (there was only 1 where I was in KY thankfully it was a great one) and a wonderful hospital to finish my treatment at.
That's probably enough for now...
Peace,
Adam
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