On the surface, Lora Zill and I don’t have much in common:
- Our politics are different.
- She publishes a respected Christian poetry journal, Time of Singing; I’ve written one poem in forty-plus years.
- At The Blue Collar Artist, she blogs about the creativity process; I’m not much about process about anything.
- She’s an evangelical Christian; I’m a returned Catholic.
Yet she’s one of my closest friends, in no small part due to the conversations we have about God and how He’s working in our lives. In fact, we’ll be holed up together later this month in West Virginia to have some of those long talks (and listen to Neil Diamond, Jon Bon Jovi, and Waylon Jennings).
I learn from Lora’s strong faith amid personal challenges, and her willingness to speak up for God.
Who has reflected Christ on your journey? Be one of the first two people to respond below, and win a free copy of Sisterhood of Saints.
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Maria de la Cruz lives in remote El Bijague, Nicaragua. A strong woman of faith, she is an example for me of putting faith into action. When the local priest was only able to visit her village once every couple months, she felt the need for her community to gather for worship more often so she took classes and became the first female “delegate of the Word” in her area. After Hurricane Mitch in 1998, she alone hiked 10 miles down the mountain and across swollen streams to get aid for her village – even though half her own house had been washed away by flash floods. Whenever I visit El Bijague, I make sure I spend time with Maria de la Cruz – she is definitely a woman who has reflected Christ on my journey.
Wow! Amazing. Thanks, Jill!
Sister Lucia of the missionaries of charity in DC was amazing to me with her patient direction of their house in Anacostia. She managed their soup kitchen, home for pregnant women and the kids summer programs and home visits in one of the most difficult neighborhoods in the city despite much personal pain for her own family back in India Yet she had time to counsel and cook for us volunteers with no concern for herself. She made us feel like welcome partners in her outreach to the poor and see Christ in each of them
Mary Ann, she does sound terrific. What a blessing that you knew her! I’ve been thinking about writing something about the fearless women religious in our lives… one of mine would be a friend in New Jersey.