Experiencing change through the Woods

My beautiful wife, Merry, son, James David, and I posing for a 2015 Christmas photo.

The hustle and bustle of everyday life had become more and more difficult with each and every passing sunrise and sunset.

For 16 years, I worked in the newspaper business. I started out covering sports, but eventually made the transition to harder news, i.e., meetings, house fires, car accidents, etc. Throughout college, that is what I trained for.

But life began to change in 2010 when my wife and I welcomed our son, James David, to the world.

Still, my weekly routine consisted of many hours away from my family. It was becoming unbearable. I was adding strain on my family by not seeing them as often as I should have.

In the past, I had thought of looking for a new job, but my efforts weren’t really truthful – at least to me. I enjoyed covering those town council meetings. I liked designing pages on a daily basis. To me, it was fun. I was responsible for leading a group of individuals to provide news for an entire community and I welcomed the challenge.

Call it what you will, but I call it burnout. I was starting to get tired. I was losing my energy, and I wanted to see my family more. And they deserved to see me more.

So, in 2013, the job hunt got a little more serious. I was determined to have a chance to spend more time with my family; to actually see my son grow up.

And Providence brought me to the Sisters of Providence.

I will admit working for the sisters has been a transition. But it has been a good one. It has been difficult for me to slow down. In the news business, the news never stops. Work was always on my mind, even at home.

But working for the Sisters of Providence has indeed changed me, somewhat. It has given me an opportunity to see my family more regularly, during normal hours. And that is a good thing. When I come to work, I am more at ease.

With the exception of being with my family, nothing makes me happier than working for the Sisters of Providence. I enjoy spending time with the sisters. I enjoy putting together press releases to get their information out to the public. I enjoy working with Sister Donna Butler regarding Peace and Justice issues. I enjoy working with Sister Joseph Fillenwarth and Providence Food Pantry. I enjoy working with Sister Ann Casper, the executive director for Mission Advancement, and all the other sisters and colleagues I work closely with.

For the first time in a long time, I feel like I have purpose. And I owe all of this to the Sisters of Providence. Thank you. I am very grateful.

Read more stories of people whose lives have been changed by their time at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in the newly-released issue of HOPE magazine!