"My desire to seek God more fully, to spend time in prayer, to serve the people of God and to do God's will were the reasons why I had chosen this way of life"

I thought of entering religious life as a child but didn't think seriously about it until I was in high school.

Being the youngest of 14 children and losing my mother, who died of cancer when I was 11, I soon became very independent. However, my mother must have been praying for me. A cousin told me, after I had been a sister for several years, that my mother told her she had thought of becoming a nun and since she had not, had prayed that a son or a daughter would become a priest or a sister.

I took the beginning step towards entering religious life when I was a sophomore in high school. I lived in a house in Bismarck with several sisters and high school girls thinking about becoming sisters while attending St. Mary's High School. This gave me time to learn about the lifestyle of the Benedictine Sisters. Upon graduation from St. Mary's in 1956, I entered religious life. My desire to seek God more fully, to spend time in prayer, to serve the people of God and to do God's will were the reasons why I had chosen this way of life. On July 11, 1960, I made a life commitment as I was convinced my call was from God.

Having been a sister for over 50 years, I am now in my fourth career. I taught for 17 years, was school librarian for 14 of those years, was administrative assistant at the monastery for 14 years, and served for 21 years as director of alumni at the University of Mary. Now I find my energy used in serving as Annunciation Monastery archivist, working with our history. I am also responsible for coordinating the monastery switchboard.

I know that my desire to serve God and God's people has been and will always be an important part of my life and my call. I realize that living this lifestyle has played a vital part in my becoming who I am. I am grateful for having been called!