Queen of Mothers, Queen of Home - and Office and Classroom...

I learned the song ‘Our Lady of Providence’ during my first weeks at the Woods (SMWC). Sister Sue Pietrus taught it to us so we could lead the students in song during the first liturgy of the school year. It has stuck with me ever since. Several years later when I married my husband, Sister Sue also gave me a beautiful framed picture of Our Lady of Providence that now resides in our entry way, visible every time I come and go into our home.

I work in a small private, for-profit company. This definitely adds a filter to my perspective on Providence and how it guides and motivates my daily life. My days are filled with creative/design sessions, email/inbox mitigations, project management and office meetings. Throw in some class lectures, project assignments, car seat lugging, diaper changing, dinner preparation, and enriching discussions with my husband and you get a good idea of how a typical day might go.

Working in a secular environment, I am sure many would assume that spirituality has little to do with my day to day work. Regarding the subject matter of our work that is true, but I can’t check my faith at the door or leave my spirituality in the car when I enter the building. I could do that as easily as I could forget my husband and children throughout the day or ignore the child that jumped in my womb during a meeting when I was very pregnant.

As I gain more experience in my work, I realize how important my connection with Providence is with what I do. Perhaps it is an underlying guide – like a ‘Providence Gauge’ that helps to direct my reactions to co-workers and the work that I do. I have felt my most successful projects have been those that were guided by that internal gauge, via communication style and end goals. And almost ALL of our success is surrounded by effective communication and openness to creativity. My spirituality and faith guide me in how well I do at both tasks.

Now, that I have decided to go back to school, it seems that the more focused and positive I can remain in my day-to-day activities, the more successful I can be at actually continuing at this pace. Everything that I am doing is extremely important to me. My time with my husband and family are the most important things to me. They drive why I do other things. My work helps to provide the means to keep our family running. It also enriches my life experience and makes me more capable of raising my children. And, my new adventures into academia are already helping me to grow as an entire person.

There is an underlying spirit that stays with me - that makes me 'Beth' in each role that I am in during a given part of the day. I wouldn't be able to manage if I couldn't take a piece Our Lady's guidance and wisdom out into those different roles. Those roles are like different worlds at time, only connected by my single life thread. I know that the Queen of Mothers can watch over me and my family – not just in the home, but the office, the classroom, and everywhere we roam.