When did you first hear in your heart and mind that you were being called to this vocation?

I never thought I would become a religious sister. In fact, I didn't know any religious sisters while growing up, and I had a misconstrued idea of what they were like.

So, the idea of becoming a religious sister never crossed my mind. My natural plan was to become a mother and a wife. That was my only aspiration while growing up. However, everything changed when I was about to enter my senior year of college.

I had been struggling with depression for years, and despite my efforts, I couldn't fill the void within me. I tried various things, such as building meaningful friendships, being part of a loving church community, pursuing education, excelling in sports, and other aspects of my life. But there was always this underlying sadness that lurked in my life.

During that summer, when I was alone at my parents' house, something significant happened. I found myself in solitude, with nothing to do and surrounded by silence—three things that terrified me the most. In that moment, I went to my old bedroom, laid down on the floor, and started crying. As I cried, I began talking to God out loud because, at that time, verbalizing my prayers was easier than offering them mentally due to my overwhelming anxiety and thoughts.

So here I was laying on the ground, crying and speaking aloud to God. I just began to share very honestly with him. I said, “God you've taken away my friends, why? You see me suffering, why do you allow this?” As I was talking about it to him, I realized that this was the first time that I had been sad in a long time and now, I understood why. My prayer shifted from sorrow to rejoicing. Although I was still crying, I recognized that this sadness was my own emotion.

In that moment, I felt a stirring in my heart, prompting me to offer my life to God. I expressed to Him that my life had always been in His hands, but now I desired it wholeheartedly. I recalled the words I had previously uttered in prayer, desperately pleading for healing from my depression, promising to go to the ends of the earth for God. As those words resurfaced, I was overwhelmed by God's love, and I felt His presence in a profound and all-consuming way. I experienced peace, joy, and love, and I instantly knew that I had been healed from my depression.

Then, I heard Jesus telling me that I would never suffer in that way again. You can imagine my ecstatic reaction—I was shouting, laughing, crying, jumping, and dancing all at once. I was grateful to be alone in the house for the first time because I knew I was in the presence of the Lord, and I felt loved and cared for. I was amazed by the healing that seemed impossible but had been freely given to me. God showed me that He had been waiting for me to fully turn to Him, to find fulfillment in Him alone, and to seek His infinite love to fill the void I had been trying to fill in other ways. My suffering finally made sense.

Shortly after this experience, an image flashed through my mind. It was so fleeting that I had to ask God for clarification aloud. The image was of me wearing a religious habit. I asked God if He wanted me to be a sister, if that had always been His plan for me. Once again, I felt overwhelmed with love, peace, and joy, and I said, "Okay." That's how I experienced my calling to religious life.

Did you have any doubts while following this call to religious life?

Yes, overcoming doubts and struggles is always a matter of relying on the Lord. So often, I imagined myself leaning on him as he carries a cross for me because sometimes when I feel doubt or struggle, what I'm focusing on is the cross on my own shoulder. If I look at Jesus, he's actually holding out his own arm and he's saying put it on mine instead. If I let him do that, if I let him carry it across, and if I look at him, that's actually where I find healing, redemption, liberation. So, overcoming obstacles for me is always a matter of relying on my lover, on the lover of my soul, Jesus Christ, and letting Him lead me and give me the strength to overcome trials with him one at a time.

How did your parents react when you said “Hey, I think I want to become a religious sister”?

My parents were shocked, and I think a little sad at first, especially because there was an expectation that I would be the first one married and I would have the most kids. I actually see the reality of that now. I was the first one married. Think about it this way. I was espoused to Christ for my baptism. What Jesus did for me through baptism, and through this particular religious institute, is how I'm choosing to live this out because Jesus has called me here. So, I'm already married. Like I mentioned earlier, I can't even tell you how many kids, thousands upon thousands. The more that Jesus trusts me with different aspects of his church, different groups of His Church, the more children come to Me and the more children become very dear to my heart, and I speak of children of all ages.

What does a day in your current role as a sister look like?

I am an English teacher for fourth and fifth grade.  I teach Catholic doctrine to both classes, and I also teach social studies to the fourth graders.  I have really enjoyed teaching and I've enjoyed being a student myself. I'm constantly trying to listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd and just say or do whatever it is he's saying or doing.

What advice would you give a young woman who may have heard the call to religious life but is afraid or does not know how to proceed?

The same four words that have helped me so much over all these years. From Jesus's own lips. I would say to her, “Do not be afraid.” There is not a single desire of your heart that Jesus does not know, love, honor and cherish. There is not a single desire that he has allowed you to have that cannot be fulfilled in its entirety, and its perfection in Him. My own desire to be a mother and a bride to be the beloved of a man, has not lessened but only increased with Jesus. His love for me has completely surpassed even the greatest imaginings that I could have had, of a biological family and a holy matrimony. This is the holiest matrimony I could have ever said yes to. I'm the happiest I've ever been. I have more children than I could have ever had. Because he's given all of them to me and they're not just mine. That’s the beautiful thing, they're his so they're our children.