Through my time on the road, my tethers slowly began to come into focus. At every stop in my sojourn, my friends hosted me, greeted me with open arms, and encouraged me to stay longer or to come back soon. Each visit reinforced, reinvigorated, and reaffirmed those relationships, and I left each place stronger and more certain of myself. I was loved, appreciated, and held up for who I was, for my vocation, my itinerant life, and how I was attempting to give myself more wholly and sincerely to the world. My tethers grew stronger and my identity clearer.
I began to deeply understand that I belonged not only to God, but also to those with whom I am in relationships. Family—certainly, that I knew. But there were also friends—far and wide, near and close, religious and lay, gay and straight, and from across the country and world. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).
—from St. Anthony Messenger‘s “On the Road Paved by St. Francis“
by Eunice Park