Christine had been home from the convent for almost a week. She hadn't had much to say about it one way or the other, but her mother decided it was time to change that.
"Christine...", Brennan began, as they enjoyed croissants and coffee, "I'm surprised you haven't told us about your time at the convent."
Christine sighed. "I've been trying to decide how I feel about it. I don't really think there's a word to describe it."
"Perhaps multiple words are in order."
"Perhaps. There were a lot of things I liked about it. It's calm….peaceful. There's a rhythm...an order to how things flow. I could sense that the sisters feel a purpose in their lives."
Brennan nodded. "That sense of order and purpose can be quite comforting."
"That's true. But there were other times I felt like a fish swimming the wrong way against the school. It's hard to explain." Christine hesitated for a minute. "You've always taught me to think for myself, so whenever something was explained as 'St. Benedict said so' it irritated me a lot. The rules seemed arbitrary. I didn't like that part of the experience, and I was disappointed, because the Benedictine rule is central to their way of life."
"Christine….You feel an intense need to help other people. There are many ways you can do that without joining a convent. You can teach, become a doctor, do medical research, or become a social worker. While you do those things you can be active in a church which will give you an avenue to change society if you want to do so."
Christine smiled slightly. "Sister Superior said the same thing. I can change the world in lots of ways besides a religious vocation. I can be a fish swimming in my own direction."