I LOVE adventures! For me, adventures come in all shapes, sizes, colors, locations, etc. Sometimes adventures come in books. I am an avid reader, so much so that I have to limit myself to the times I read. I can easily shut out life and spend an entire day starting and finishing a really good book. Other times, my adventure comes in my travels. My wanderlust is well documented and should never be discounted. I've actually surprised myself in that particular regard lately, as I haven't felt the "pull of the road" since August. (It'll be interesting to see how much longer that lasts!) My woodworking hobby is also adventurous. I've written previously about having learned my skills from my dad. He's been gone for almost seven years and to this day, I feel him with me every time I work on a project. In fact, I start each woodworking day with the same question (asked aloud when no one is around...just saying): "Well dad, lets make some sawdust, what do you think?" My relationship with him was/is one of my most sacred treasures.
Well, today I went on an adventure at/for our church. I went treasure hunting today and couldn't believe the booty! Our parish is scheduled to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the "new church" building this month I went "treasure hunting" through some of the old storage cabinets and into "the dungeon." YES...DUNGEON! Okay, its not the dungeon that you might expect, given the chambers of horror we all associate with dungeons on television/movies and in books, but, I have been fascinated with the idea of the dungeon at church since I was a kid (yes, that's a LONG time!) While many of you would probably not react with the same excitement as I, over the treasures we rediscovered, for me, it was so much more than bringing long forgotten tools and artifacts to light. Our treasures represented a tangible connection with my history.
As we examined the pieces (and cleared decades of dirt and dust), I could not help but wonder about and imagine what the early worshipers were like. Did they attend mass out of a sense of obligation or were they "Christmas and Easter Catholics." Were they devout followers who defined themselves, in part, by their Catholic faith? My grandparents were members of our church, as was my great grandfather and my great-great grandmother. This knowledge is another treasure for me. You see, family, regardless of distances of time and space, is my greatest treasure.
TTFN,
Lois
