My plan had formed while I was preparing for Confirmation at age 12. While attending a 3-day retreat in preparation for the Sacrament, we were taught about the Holy Spirit and our responsibilities as adult Catholics. Becoming Christian soldiers in the Army of Christ, we would get our courage from the Holy Spirit. We sang, many times, during the 3 days, “Come, Holy Ghost.”
“Come, Holy Ghost, Creator blest, and in our hearts take up thy rest; Come with thy grace and heav’nly aid to fill the hearts which thou has made….”
That was the song we sang on Confirmation Day, when I seriously began to think of how I could serve God in the future. My dream became the desire to have 10 children to be Christian soldiers themselves, when they grew up and went out into the world. I knew I would need a good strong man for a husband, a good provider, and one who would not get drunk. He would have to be loving and willing to share my dream; anxious to share it. I began praying for that future.
So what was I doing out drinking? How had I forgotten my dreams just to have some fun with the other kids? I reflected, a lot, about the night before. Then, at age 15, I made a vow that I would never get drunk. I promised God that I was so serious about someday getting married and raising children for His glory, that I knew I could not go to The Hilltop Tavern any more.
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