In the Beginning

"He will Himself come down, and, taking you in His arms, will carry you to His Kingdom never again to leave Him."

~ St. Therese, the Little Flower

My journey of faith has gone from Jehovah's Witness, born and raised, to Roman Catholic, baptized and discerning a religious vocation, with a few twists and turns along the way. I've thought about and attempted prayer journaling, but seeing that my passion is to help others, whether in a vocation or not, I've decided to share my journey through this blog, as it has come to this point and as I progress.

I chose the name A Journey Through the Gray Areas for my blog because my main dilemma is to choose between the religious life and the secular life. Navigating the gray area between the two is difficult at best. I enjoy my faith and want to grow in it and work in it, but I've led a very secular life, which is very hard to separate from.

The goal of this blog is to share my experiences and goals not only to hash through my own thoughts and feelings and hopefully come to a healthy decision but also for readers who may be interested in learning about someone else's journey of faith, or be doubtful and need encouragement, or be willing to encourage me in my inevitable times of uncertainty.

For now, I'll share a few quick stats about myself:

I was born October 1, 1987 and so I count St. Therese of Lisieux among my patron saints.

I was baptized at Historic St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Bloomington, IL, USA on March 30, 2013.

I chose Mary Magdalene as my patroness for her penitence, her devotion to Jesus Christ, and the honor she was given to be the first person to see the risen Christ. I wear red every Easter, her signature color, and was baptized in a red dress, in her honor.

I also feel very close to the Blessed Virgin, as I've seen her in dreams, which I will recount at some point.

I have a lot of progress I'd like to make.  As I half-joke with friends, "I said I was Catholic; I never said I was good at it!"

As always, I keep the entire world in my prayers.