In the beginning... or why

When I was a little girl I used to write short stories, which I also illustrated with my own drawings. My fertile imagination and observation of life were supplemented by the hundreds of books I would read in the course of a year, which gave me untold ideas for new plotlines. I even wrote the odd poem - ones that rhymed and scanned, of course, as that was the only sort of poetry I knew.

As I grew older, I channelled all this creativity into keeping a diary. Words and emotions poured from my pen as I recorded my teenage angsts, frustrations and pleasures. Since then I have sporadically kept a journal; but even when I don't journal I still find myself thinking in words, distinctly describing what I see and how I feel.  Many unwritten reflections have swirled around my head, sometimes coming out in conversation, sometimes not.

I love words. I love their sounds and feel, but more than that, I love their origins and lost or hidden meanings, their versatility, the way I can play with them, their ability to surprise me. I love to compare them with their counterparts in other languages, to dismember them and then rebuild them anew, with fresh eyes and understanding.

That alone is a good reason for blogging. But there is another reason too.

My profile says I am a religious sister: but what it doesn't say, explicitly, is that I love being a sister. It is a way of life which gives me life, which challenges and fulfils in equal measure, and frees me to love and grow in loving. Crucially, it gives me that "more" of God for which I longed all those years ago, and the pursuit of which brought me to the Society. Belonging to God is scary, tough and risky, bringing tears and renunciation; but it also gives deep, untold joy, and - true to Jesus's promise - yields an abundantly rich, indescribably varied hundredfold.

This is who, what and how I am, and what I want to share with others. So in this blog I hope to bring together my different loves - of words, photography, creativity - and place them at the service of my central love, the Love that will not let me go.


This is my first-ever post on my first-ever blog. I've illustrated it with one of my own photos - as I hope to do with all future posts. Meanwhile, I have no idea what to expect, and only the vaguest idea of how to find out if any comments have been made (I may have to phone a friend!) So, please be patient with me; appropriate comments will get posted... eventually...