Who's plan is it anyway?

Ever heard this tag line: Know how to make God laugh? Tell him your plans.

My plan for this summer was to take it off. In my fantasy, I would have a good solid month of resting, purging my house of unnecessary clutter, and enjoying my family with out the stress of multiple travel destinations and teaching summer camp. 

The day after I agreed to work as a full time co-teacher in the 2012-13 school year I was approached to about a new gig - a director of faith formation at a parish where the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is the main form of religious education.  Ok, God I am listening!

See, 9 years ago I graduated with a Masters of Arts in Religious Education. A family friend and life long Montessorian took me into the atrium that she had started twenty years before. She said, if you are going to teach religious education, you need to know about this. As she introduced me to the Good Shepherd and the materials in the atrium, tears welled up in my eyes. Every child needed to be a part of this! I need to be trained in this methodology.

A few years later, I was seeking out employment. I went to Good Shepherd Montessori School and asked if they needed a catechist. They said, we have a catechist. We need a head elementary directress. I then was immersed in life as an elementary Montessori directress. I got to observe life in the atrium and how beautifully the cosmic curriculum that I carried out fit with the lessons of the Good Shepherd in the atrium. What a blessing! I knew one day I would be trained in The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

That time was this summer. I did not get to take the summer off. I spent most of it in training. I am about halfway through certification in the three levels of the CGS. The recommendation is to train in level and then wait a year to let it resonate in your spirit. I will have trained in all three levels in 1 year. I am pretty sure I will be letting it resonate for the rest of my life while the Good Shepherd nurtures the spirit in me.

I have been opened up to new depths of understanding. This was God's plan for me. I continue to see his love for me, for us, for the world unfold. God is Good!