Making a Lifetime Commitment

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Making a lifetime commitment in today’s time can seem like a very daunting and frightening thing to do.  In a world where everything is instance and commitments made, many times do not last forever.  I was faced with this reality of making a lifetime commitment about three weeks before I was due to make my final profession of vows.  Doing this would mean that I would be vowing obedience which included poverty and chastity “even unto death.” I had to question myself and ask if I was really ready to make this huge commitment.  In my mind and heart I went over what this really meant for me.  No marriage, no children, no sex, not having my own money, living with others I would not necessarily choose to live with.  These were some of the things I was letting go of.  Then why did I want to make this commitment?  I freely wanted to make this commitment firstly, because I felt that this is what God wanted for me and that God knew me better than I knew myself.  Secondly, eight years ago I had met this extraordinary group of women and associates who I felt at home with and who challenged and encouraged me to be and become who God wanted me to be.  Through lots of prayer and reflection, I realized that I wanted to make my final vows and that I was not losing or giving up, in so much, as I was gaining all that I needed to be happy and fulfilled and that I was making my vows to God and choosing to live it out within this congregation as a Dominican of Sinsinawa. 

Lystra Long, OP
New Grant, Trinidad

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