It was my first time taking a boy to Mass with me. I had been seriously considering religious life at the time, and was confident that NO human being was going to stand in the way of me and a religious habit unless he be the spitting image of “John-boy Walton” himself: bare feet, book in one hand, writer’s notebook in the other...

He didn’t exist, which was good, because I was going to be a nun.

But this boy sitting next to me in the car on the way to Mass? He brought a book with him wherever he went and wrote at least one poem every single day.

Hmmm…2 points for him, I suppose.

So once again, God had to speak to me through my children.

When I overcomplicate matters….He makes them simple.

And what better way to make things simple than through the eyes of a child? Or in this case…a children’s book….

All of the sudden, the lights in the auditorium went out, save one. And guess who just walked right out of thin air?

Matt Maher of course.

He started singing, and people lost it. I, not knowing who Matt Maher was at the time (a contemporary Catholic musician), just stood there with my mouth agape. All of the adults and chaperones had obviously withheld the fact that an all-out concert was to take place after Mass.

In all honesty, I hardly remember any of Matt Maher’s singing from that evening…but there is one moment I remember clear as day. One that changed my life.

When dealing with an idea that has yet to be fully formed,  like this commission, the process becomes a bit tricky, as ideas typically start off blurry and gradually gain clarity with time and prayer.

It’s not like the Saint Clare rush-order I completed a couple months ago, which required me to dress up like a religious sister, snap a pic…and paint!

This commission required phone calls, emails, many small mockups, and of course…prayer. But, with time, what was once a vague idea gradually became clearer.

Another dad joined the struggle as he swayed a sobbing toddler back and forth the entirety of Mass as well. Our eyes met briefly at one point, and I saw the same yearning in his own face as he said, “Not how you’d expect Christmas Eve Mass to go, huh?”

His voice choked at the last of these words…