“The Felician Difference” Vocation Reflection
By: Sr. Joyce Marie Van de Vyver
Vocation is not a one-time invitation. It is a living, breathing, active call that grows stronger year by year. Vocation, to me, is living out the will of God through one’s vows.
Just as the Apostles gathered all in common and then shared what they had according to each one’s needs, so, too, did I take a vow of poverty but ended up with an abundance of the Spirit.
By taking the vow of obedience, I gave up my personal choices in order to follow God’s will. I was asked to earn a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and expected that I would be teaching seventh or eighth grade science students. Instead, I found myself teaching the first grade! Fourteen years later, I was asked to get a master’s degree, this time in a subject of my choosing. I decided on early childhood education, but as I continued to follow God’s will, I spent many years in administration after earning my degree. Then came another surprise from the Holy Spirit: “Sister, we need you to build a child care center.”
The vow of chastity asks us to give up a home and family of our own to follow God. I never could have imagined that He would give me a plot of land to build a different kind of house. The privilege was given to me to design and develop an entire child care center and then become the director of that center for 25 years.
Only by following God could my vocation live and thrive with so many delightful surprises for so many years. Now, at 81 years old, this Felician Sister looks back and smiles joyfully at what God has accomplished for her and through her, as she waits for the next surprise.
This reflection was shared as part of National Vocation Awareness Week. Discover more stories of vocation from our sisters.
