Wednesday of Holy Week: Joy in the Chaos
BY PIPER FOELLMER | April 5, 2023
Today’s Readings
After I read today’s reading from Isaiah, one major point that stood out to me was the way that Isaiah reminds us that God has given us the ability to communicate, so we are able to speak with the weary. As humans, genuine and real connection is such a unique aspect of being fully human.
This past January, I had the privilege of being one of the student coordinators for an immersion trip to Cuernavaca, Mexico. It was an incredibly rewarding, joyful, lovely, chaotic, inspiring, beautiful experience. There were many moments of joy; raw and real, felt joy. In this joy, like any great adventure, there was a lot of chaos leading up to our departure, as well as along the way. But this was the beauty of it. The moments of joy and chaos were a beautiful storm, reminding me that there’s chaos in joy and joy in chaos.
Throughout our week in Mexico, I was trusted with stories. Many were told in individuals’ authentic tongue of Spanish. Since I’m pursuing a degree in Spanish & Hispanic studies, I was fortunate enough to be able to understand the rawness in these stories. I thank God for this ability to speak with them. I was invited to listen, ask questions, and give my whole heart to folks I had never met before. I found myself laughing with strangers, falling in love with them and their stories: their person, their soul. I found joy in these connections. Through the chaotic moments, I found that God never left. He was there, in all the individuals. All the places. All the chaos.
For Reflection:
- How can you commit yourself to centering people in an authentic way, even in the midst of chaos—in new, stressful, or unexpected situations?
- Whether or not you study or speak a second language, how can you expand your “language” to enter into a deeper understanding of the lived realities of others by building relationships with those whose lives look very different from your own?
Piper Foellmer is a senior at John Carroll University majoring in Spanish & Hispanic Studies. She is passionate about genuine human connections and relationships, with the hope that radical love can change our world for the good of all who inhabit it.
“Morning after morning, he opens my ears to hear.” Listening, not interrupting, not adding our own story, not judging or correcting or “fixing” but just listening. That is my attempt at living in the chaos and offering what I can to those around me.
Your story about your time in Mexico brought back a memory of a time I was part of a delegation to San Salvador. When the group went on a day trip that I could not manage because of physical limitations, I stayed behind in a rural area where there were many young children playing. After several minutes, the children approached me to visit. They spoke no English and I spoke no Spanish, but they persevered. They sang to me! They encouraged me to sing to them. I showed them pictures of my family. Lack of a common language was not a problem! When my delegation returned and saw the children with me, the leader asked them why they came to me. They said they did not want me to be alone. I will never forget their compassion and act of kindness.
Meaningful and nice. Finding God in all places, in all things, and in the stories of each of the Almighty’s creation.
God lives in each of us. We just need to take the time to open our eyes to see and our ears to listen to one another.