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Cindy Marette's avatar

KSP is one of my special favorites (if I’m allowed to have favorites…I guess if I’m not ranking my children, it’s OK☺️). I enjoyed this good, true, and beautiful conversation immensely! Thank you🙏

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Karen Swallow Prior's avatar

Thank you, Cindy!

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Joel J Miller's avatar

Yes, Karen is a gift to us all!

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Sterling Ray's avatar

I’ve thought about these concepts a lot over the past few years as disability and chronic illness took away my ability to work in a traditional sense, or to pursue many of the things I love and am good at. What does it mean to have a calling when you are so limited? When you can do so little? I’ve swung back and forth between seeing so much purpose in my very small acts of knitting a sweater for someone I love, or writing a letter, to discouragement that I don’t get to follow my passions or use my gifts like I used to. I’ve wondered then, if this book is for me! I consider my calling a lot. But what does it look like for someone like me?

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Kerri Christopher's avatar

Sterling, have you ever read any Therese of Liseux? She gets a bad rep for being too saccharine but I think that’s a reflection of her context and not her actually very gritty soul in the midst of feeling small and insignificant due to health limitations. She discerned a high calling through what she termed “The Little Way” and is even now recognised with the honour of being considered a Doctor of the Church. (If you’re not Catholic, the short version is that it’s a big deal :)). You might enjoy reading her autobiography, Story of A Soul.

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Joel J Miller's avatar

Kerri, thanks for jumping in with this recommendation!

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Kerri Christopher's avatar

Happy to! I love literary & saintly matchmaking :)

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Sterling Ray's avatar

This is a wonderful recommendation, thank you! I have not read her. I’ve heard her name, and of the Little Way but don’t know much about her. I will seek out her autobiography since it sounds right up my street. It’s wonderful how often we can see that people who have gone before in the Church have been considering the same things that we do. And to learn from their wisdom. :)

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Kerri Christopher's avatar

I hope you enjoy it! Denise Trull wrote a wonderful little reflection on her that I think gets to the heart of her strength in weakness: https://open.substack.com/pub/theinscapist/p/the-little-wrought-iron-flower-c59?r=zdzsm&utm_medium=ios

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Sterling Ray's avatar

Lovely, I look forward to reading it!

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Russell Board's avatar

Excellent and insightful. Thank you!

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