The Sitting Room

 “You know I’m actually a Black Joe and I didn't teach in this area. The Black Joes and the Brown Joes had the same rules and traditions which was a surprise really!” says Sister Colleen. I am in the Mary Mackillop Centre, sitting on the clean, wooden floor. I am in the sitting room with 6 Josephite sisters and a crowd of C.T.K students. The Josephite sisters are telling us some of their amazing stories from when they were teaching children to when they were taking care of the older sisters. I look around the sitting room, I can see that most students are all squashed up because the room is very small for a group of students of 5 different year levels. Their faces are so full of wonder that it makes me enjoy my time hearing their stories. Behind one of the sisters who is wearing blue and a cheerful smile, there is a window that has pink curtains drawn to the sides. Maybe the sisters did that so that the sun’s gleaming light would pass through. Then I look at the white wall with a mind blowing artwork. It is very detailed and colourful and it shows that the artist put a lot of effort to paint the artwork; just like the sisters who put lots of effort into painting God’s love which extends to the ones that can’t afford education and who have no faith. Turning my head to Sister Colleen I can see she is wearing a pinkish, maroon-ish vest and under her vest she is wearing a black long-sleeved shirt. Her shoes are black and pointy like a witches’ nose. Her hair is a mixture of white and grey just like clouds up in the sky ready to burst. Looking at Sister Colleen makes me wonder about other women. Do they have the opportunity to follow their vocation of being a nun? Do other women have the dream of spreading the love of God or even serving Him? I also wonder about the sisters that do serve God with love and have lots of hope in Him. Their strong relationship with God makes me feel like God is so close to his people even if times are hard and we think He is miles away.