Love in Your Life

 When I sat down to write this latest blog entry, so many topics came to mind…ministry, God’s love, a meaningful quote and Valentine’s Day. As I thought about it, they all are connected.

I am blessed to have a ministry that I love. For the past year and a half I have been one of two Youth and Young Adult Ministers at a parish west of Milwaukee. I have the privilege of journeying with people from age 12 through 35. I am allowed into their lives and onto their journeys. My favorite part of ministry is when I can sit and talk with someone about things that are important to that person. I had that opportunity a little over a week ago when my parish sent 55 of our high school juniors on their Confirmation retreat. Yes, they were forced to be there, but these teens really took the time apart to look at their relationship with God, with their family and friends and with themselves. I was able to enter into their chaotic world and assure them their life will get better and that God is there for them and loves them no matter what they have done. I watched a transformation in some of these teens in the 43 hours I was with them. It was incredible! It reminded me of why I am in ministry despite all the paperwork and red tape I have to work through.

A phrase I hear in Sinsinawa Dominican circles quite often is “At the heart of ministry is relationship” or the adaptation, “At the heart of everything is relationship.” The relationship I have with the teens and young adults is central to my ministry. The paperwork would be no use if not for the people on the other side of it. The relationship that I have with God is central to my interactions with others, but also to my interior journey. 

This leads me to Valentine’s Day. I don’t have a boyfriend to spend the day with or to buy me chocolates and roses, but I do have many people who have touched my life this past year showering me with love and for whom I thank God. I also have a God that loves me unconditionally and lets me know it everywhere I look.

How has love touched your life?
Krissie Koll, Candidate
Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin
 

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