The Chain of Optimism (Part 3)

The actual moment was worse than my psyche would allow me to comprehend while sitting in my pastor’s office. There for the meeting with him and the principal about having the Kids for Jesus (K4J) School of Virtue at our school, I had my youngest two kids with me after picking them up from half day school.

I take my kids everywhere and normally they are well-behaved. But that day they were literally flying across the tiny room as I was making my pitch for the virtue program. (It has really helped me and my kids so much…really.) I was kicking myself for not having brought them a snack or crayons and a coloring book. They were loud, disobedient, and disrespectful. It did not help that my pastor was a high-brow intellectual who was uncomfortable with children.

Yes, I was quite the ambassador for K4J that day! So to hear the we’ll-study-that-more-over-the-next-several-years-and-get-back-with-you did not come as a complete surprise.

Fast-forward to a room filled with two-thirds of the 28 parent volunteers learning their role as K4J room parents adn host families in implementing the K4J School of Virtue. Although a bit overwhelmed with absorbing the program, you could tell they were intrigued. As I looked at the audience, I felt in awe that I was in a modern-day loaves and fishes miracle. God took our tight core of five families and just multiplied us by six.

So how did we get from point “A” to point “B”? Well the first pastor didn’t have time to finish his study before he was transferred to another parish. Building on the chain of optimism rather than get discouraged by perceived rejection, I set a meeting with the new pastor to introduce myself and my apostolate, K4J. After explaining how K4J helps form young souls and get kids excited about their faith, I asked him how this fits with his vision for the parish.

And he said, “It fits exactly”.

And the rest is history.

Catholic Women’s Guide to Healthy Relationships Tip: Be yourself and never let discouragement or negativity stop you from letting God use you as His instrument.