Michele Morris actually drew the self-portrait on the right with brown marker and sent it to Kevin and me in a package with some fun surprises I'll share about in another post.
The note on the top left of the drawing is how she and I would say goodbye to each other in person, letters, phone calls, e-mails or text messages: Love, hugs, and glory bees (a variation of the love, hugs, and prayers I often sign in letters to loved ones). "Juice" is printed on the top right because one of the many times when Michele appeared at our door it was the first word out of her mouth. Normally, I'd offer her something to drink upon her arrival, and she often asked for juice and a little snack to go with it.
One fine day after chatting with Kevin outside for a bit while he was working on his motorcycle, she became particularly parched. When Michele finally made it upstairs, she knocked, I opened the door, and without so much as a "hi" she said: "Juice!" with the innocence and insistence characteristic of a toddler. I was completely amused and acquiesced immediately.
Michele really cracks me up. Even though she's in a cloistered monastery across the country and I haven't heard her voice or seen her in close to a year now, I can still picture her laughing and smiling, being silly and bringing great joy to The Carmelite Sisters by the Sea in Carmel, California.
Lord, help us to be open to Your will in all areas of our lives. Make us mindful of the promptings of the Holy Spirit, so that we are sensitive to how, with whom, when, and where You want us to serve. Amen.
