{"id":3231,"date":"2016-01-19T13:07:18","date_gmt":"2016-01-19T18:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/?page_id=3231"},"modified":"2016-01-19T15:17:31","modified_gmt":"2016-01-19T20:17:31","slug":"vocations-4","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/scarboro-missions-magazine\/previous-issues\/vocations-4","title":{"rendered":"Vocations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rest your dreams on a twig<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

By Donna Joy Tai
\nJanuary-February 2016<\/p>\n

\n

A<\/span>s part of my discernment journey prior to becoming a missioner, I participated in my first-ever silent retreat at Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Centre in Pickering, Ontario. My trepidation at the thought of not speaking for more than 36 hours quickly disappeared as soon as I began to explore the beautiful natural environment of the centre. I could resist any temptation to speak by going for a walk: under the tall whispering pines of the Rosary Way; along the convoluted, surprising path of the labyrinth; down the hill and through the woods to the meandering stream…<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Rest<\/a>

Rest your dreams on a little twig \u00a9 2003; text by Joyce Rupp, OSM, art by Barbara Loomis, OSM; Sorin Books
(www.sorinbooks.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

On this silent retreat, God spoke to me in astonishing ways during my various nature walks. However, God really grabbed my attention through a slim book of poems inspired by nature: Rest your dreams on a little twig,<\/i> by Joyce Rupp, with pencil drawings by Barbara Loomis. I would randomly choose a page and be delighted and amazed by the appropriateness of the poem, providing necessary answers and unexpected insight… especially regarding my impatient and yet unfulfilled desire to go to mission overseas. I was gently reminded that…
\nLife unfolds
\n<\/span>slowly,
\n<\/span>surely. <\/span>(<\/span>l<\/span>ike a fer<\/span>n)
\n<\/span>However, within me
\n<\/span>There\u2019s a bluebird
\n<\/span>in my soul
\n<\/span>seeking wings,
\n<\/span><\/span>longing
\n<\/span>for the freedom
\n<\/span><\/span>to fly
\n<\/span>in new untried
\n<\/span>meadows.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

It was as if Joyce Rupp knew me, a total stranger, more intimately than perhaps I knew myself. She certainly captured the essence of my state of mind then. Currently in my third year of mission in Guyana (life surely unfolding), this little book remains a constant and clairvoyant presence\u2014soothing and reassuring at times, probing and demanding at other times, always challenging me to enter more deeply into my experience of mission, of faith, of life in general. I have learned to draw on nature and on people for inspiration when in the grips of misunderstanding, frustration, solitude, and fatigue.<\/p>\n

\"Scarboro<\/a>

Scarboro lay missioner Donna Tai making papier m\u00e2ch\u00e9 pi\u00f1atas with students at the St. John Bosco Academy, a school for orphaned boys in Georgetown, Guyana. Donna\u2019s ministries include the orphanage, catechesis, and bringing music and friendship to the elderly and shut-ins. She hopes to begin working with victims of human trafficking, an initiative of the Sisters of Mercy.<\/p><\/div>\n

The loveliness
\n<\/span>of a single flower
\n<\/span>in radiant bloom
\n<\/span>can sing
\n<\/span>my drooping spirit
\n<\/span>into joy.
\n<\/span>The loveliness
\n<\/span>of a single person
\n<\/span>with a listening gaze
\n<\/span>can sing
\n<\/span>my heavy heart
\n<\/span>back into life.
\n<\/span>I\u2019ve come across
\n<\/span>both kinds
\n<\/span>in my time of need
\n<\/span>and both
\n<\/span>have brought me hope.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

And hope, I believe, is essential for any rewarding and successful mission experience\u2014certainly for the missioner and perhaps even more so for the people being served.\u221e<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rest your dreams on a twig By Donna Joy Tai January-February 2016 As part of my discernment journey prior to becoming a missioner, I participated in my first-ever silent retreat at Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Centre in Pickering, Ontario. My trepidation at the thought of not speaking for more than 36 hours quickly disappeared as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":843,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-magazine-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3231"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3307,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3231\/revisions\/3307"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}