Answered Prayers

Tonight I discovered pinterest.com - a place where you can compile and catalog all the neat things you find on the internet. The catagorization comes in the form of "boards." Once you find something you like, you can "pin" it to your board. Pretty cool, eh? One of my boards at pinterest is called Latin Love. I love Mexican style and culture and now I have a place to save all the images that remind me of Mexico.

While I was finding images to "pin" I decided to Google "Arandas, Jalisco, Mexico." For six months back in 1994, I lived in Arandas - a tiny "pueblito" in the high plains of Jalisco. I was 23 years old but I felt aimless and confused. I had recently graduated from UCSB with a BA in pre-law, but I honestly didnt have a clue what I wanted in life. I knew I didnt want to stick around and live with my parents forever, so I quit my job, sold my car and used the money to live in Mexico. It was one of the scariest things Ive ever done but it was also one of the happiest times in my whole life.

Arandas is located deep in the heart of Mexico. I didnt pick that location arbitrarily. My good friend Lorena had family in Arandas and they agreed to let me stay with them, free of rent, as long as I helped out around their facility. Lorena's aunt was a nun and the facility she ran was a convalescent home for sick and often indigent seniors. For six months I lived with four nuns and helped care for the elderly of that community.

The first couple months were really hard. I cried a lot and missed my family and friends terribly. There were definitely difficulties living in Arandas. I couldnt speak Spanish when I arrived and the nuns didnt speak English. Communication was very frustrating at first. The nuns didnt have a washing machine on the premises. I had to wash my clothes by hand on a rock basin outside. I was lucky to have a shower adjacent to my room, but the water wasnt always warm and it came out like it was flowing from a hose. There were no movie theaters or shopping malls in Arandas. We didnt have a car and instead walked everywhere for the items we needed. It was a very rural area tucked away from the rest of the world - total culture shock.

For the most part, I adopted the routines of the nuns. I changed bed linens when the elderly soiled themselves. I served meals to the seniors who were bedridden. I swept and mopped the front porch every day. I helped do the laundry and washed the dishes after every meal. In addition to the work, there were also religious implications. For six months I went to church every single morning and prayed the rosary twice a day. It was a total lifestyle change. There were definitely periods of loneliness and I was terrified of what I was doing, but during that period of my life I experienced profound growth and clarity. I learned so much about myself and was extremely happy the latter part of my stay. When I returned home, I knew exactly what I wanted in life. I had developed confidence I never knew I had.

Living the life of a nun (even if you arent one) allows a lot of time to pray. Although I was raised Catholic, the level of spiritual devotion displayed by the nuns was new for me. The church pictured above was the place I attended mass daily. Everyday I said the same prayer during the service: "Please, Lord. If it is your will, let me be worthy to meet a good man to love and raise a family with." I prayed this invocation EVERY SINGLE DAY - the same appeal for six months. Nine months after I returned home, I met my husband Matt. It was a totally random introduction and I truly believe that fateful timing was key in us finding each other. One night during those first few days of dating, Matt asked me on the phone if I knew the origin and meaning of my name. I told him I didnt and that it was just a name my mother liked. He shared, among other things, that his name was Hebrew for "gift from God." I was genuinely stunned upon hearing these words. In that moment I knew with everything in me that God meant Matt for me. It was as if he was saying "Lisa, this gift - the one you prayed for - is for you."

Tonight, when I saw that picture above, tears came to my eyes. I havent seen that church in many years, but there is no doubt that God heard me in that holy place.

Happy Saturday.