The Difference of a Life

I have been very blessed to learn how to do gifts interviews with individuals who have gone through a live or audio version of the Called & Gifted workshop. Over the course of an hour, these people tell stories that illustrate how God may have been at work through them on behalf of others, sometimes in extraordinary ways. What is remarkable is often the individual him- or herself doesn't even think their examples are unusual! This makes sense, because if charisms are involved, they enjoy the particular way in which the charism allows them to help individuals or groups, they get good feedback, and see results beyond what they might normally expect. God is working through them supernaturally, but it will feel natural to them.

A few weeks ago I was in St. Paul, MN, and I had a wonderful interview with a middle-aged divorcee I'll call Angela. She is a social worker, and we talked about two charisms in particular: Mercy and Hospitality. Mercy empowers a Christian to be a channel of God's love through providing practical deeds to help alleviate the suffering of another, while Hospitality enables a Christian to welcome the stranger and offer them food, shelter and friendship.

After attending Catholic schools through graduate school, Angela went through a conversion in 1993, after which she realized that God was present in those who were suffering. "How could I have missed that fact all those years before?" she asked. Conversion really is like regaining sight, and often we don't even realize we were blind!

Since 1993, Angela has opened her home to over 50 foster children, many of whom were infants. One child stood out in her mind. She had been asked to take a nearly one-year old baby home for a month while a foster home was found for her. When she picked up the child, Hannah, she was shocked to find that the baby weighed less than ten pounds! She had been horribly abused, and her twin sister had died from similar abuse. Already she had been in thirteen foster care placements. The child, Hannah, was a crack baby and had some problems with her legs. Angela was told that Hannah would probably be mentally retarded and have trouble walking all her life.

Hannah was not an easy child. She screamed nearly all night long, bit Angela, and wouldn't eat well. After saying "Momma" to Angela when they first met, Hannah refused to speak again. At night, from her bedroom off the kitchen, Angela could hear her other children speculating as to, "what's wrong with mom?"

A month went by, and it was time to take Hannah to her new foster home, but Angela was told there was no placement, so the child would have to be institutionalized. After sadly putting her in the car, Angela began to drive. By the time she reached the end of the block, Angela was sobbing. She couldn't abandon this little girl, because she knew if Hannah were institutionalized, she would soon join her twin in death. So she took Hannah home. After consulting with experts who offered no hope for comforting the screaming little girl, Angela decided to "start over" with Hannah. She began to treat her as though she were an infant; carrying her constantly and not letting her crawl, feeding her by hand, constantly telling the baby how much she loved her. It seemed to make a difference, but Angela knew something more was needed.

She went to the local cathedral and spoke to a priest she knew. Would he pray with her over the child? He agreed, and they prayed before a statue of the Blessed Mother and poured out their hearts on behalf of Hannah.

By the age of four, Hannah was talking, and today she is a healthy, active sixth grader in Catholic school. She is doing great academically, and no one would suspect her history. She still calls Angela "momma."

You see, Angela adopted Hannah.

This is an example of the difference that one life can make. This is the difference our charisms, or gratuitous spiritual gifts, make. Hannah's alive and thriving because of the love of God she received through Angela – through the charisms that God gave Angela for this healing purpose. Who knows what Hannah will do in her life, what contributions to society she'll make, or who she will love. She, and we, will owe it all to God, who continues to enter the world and change it for the better through ordinary people like Angela,

and you,

and me.