Spirit @ Work Within

Last November I participated in a retreat called "The Spirit@Work Within" presented by Charis Ministries in Chicago. It was a day-long retreat held at Loyola University Chicago's lakeshore campus with almost 50 people in their 20s and 30s. As one of the retreat team members, I was responsible for writing and giving a witness talk based on one of the retreat themes.

I had last given a retreat talk four years prior as a senior at Marquette University for the Freshman 2-Day retreat. Our theme for that particular retreat was "There's No Place Like Home" and finding a home at college. My fellow retreat team members gave talks on finding home with God, ourselves, and others. As the final speaker, my talk was focused on bringing all those themes together into one final "Home" talk. I remember spending a long time thinking about, praying about, and writing that retreat talk... a practice I repeated this year in writing my "Spirit@Work" talk. Ironically (or maybe not ironic but perhaps God-inspired), I was the final talk in both retreats. For the Spirit@Work retreat, our three talks centered on finding and using our gifts in 1) the past, 2) the present, and 3) the future. I appreciate having the experiences and self-awareness/self-reflection to give talks that summarize the retreat's themes and help people going forward.

For the Frosh 2-Day retreat, I spent a lot of time talking about how difficult my freshman year was. It was a year of major change and transition - my relationship with my mother was strained going into college, 9/11 was three weeks into my first semester, my uncle passed away unexpectedly during winter break, I dealt directly with friends acknowledging homosexuality and a friend who had been raped, did not have many friends, gained the freshman 20 pounds, wasn't involved in any activities, etc. Looking back, it's interesting to me how I even became the person I was that year - it's completely unlike anyone I had been prior and anyone I've been since. However, my freshman year taught me a number of very important lessons and helped me grow in countless ways I think I'm still experiencing. The lesson about "home" I was able to share was twofold - 1) an appreciation for my good friend Ryan who through his consistent presence and support that year helped me find my way out of the funk (finding "home" in friendship), and 2) the ability to identify what I needed to do to make my sophomore year (and consequently the rest of my college career) much better (being able to find "home" at Marquette through friends, involvement in service and church-related activities, and more).

The Spirit@Work retreat inspired a similar story, this time based on my journey towards finding my identity AND towards finding a career. The theme of my talk ended up being "Living a Life Testifying to God's Love." I shared how my gifts of creativity, hospitality, and self-awareness have been discovered over time (through my jobs, through comments by friends and family members, through reflection on the activities and people who have brought me peace and joy). Realizing how much I enjoyed working with children and remembering how strongly I've wanted to be involved in the arts, plus my interest in psychology and counseling, all led me to pursue grad school and a career in Art Therapy. However, sharing our gifts is not only a career goal... it is a life goal. And I've found that I'm able to share my gifts in a number of general life ways - from my work as a barista at Starbucks to my art and psychology classes and in all my relationships. I'm not perfect and I struggle with recognizing and remembering my gifts when I experience challenges and roadblocks. However, I've found a foundation in love and through faith I keep this desire to love and share love at the root of all I am and all I do.