A Change of Plans

This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Le Puy, a small town in France where the Congregation of St. Joseph formed their first religious communities in 1650. Taller de José was founded by and continues to be sponsored by the Congregation, so the trip was an opportunity to connect with the long tradition that build the strong foundation upon which Taller is built. I learned far more than I can write in one post (at least, one that anyone would be willing to read), but one major "aha" moment I had while there was when I learned that the first sisters recognized that in order to best serve their community they had to have flexible schedules. Instead of adhering to strict patterns of prayer like many cloistered monasteries, the sisters recognized a need to be flexible and fluid, open to the neighbors in need knocking at any time of day.

Ah- ha.

If you know me well (okay, maybe even just a little) you know how much I love schedules (and sticking to them) and putting things on the calendar way in advance. If you ever witness me going with the flow or being flexible, it's probably because my calendar says: "2-5pm: Go with the flow."

But that flexibility is exactly what we need at Taller de José. We often lament that we can't even get everyone at a staff meeting because no matter when we schedule it, at least one client requests an accompaniment to court or a doctor's appointment that can't be rescheduled. And that's what we're here for, right? We are here to serve the dear neighbor whenever they come knocking, even— and especially—when they aren't on my calendar. These days, most of the clients I work with directly are walk-ins, hoping to be seen and heard even though they don't have an appointment. This flexibility is often tough for me, but visiting Le Puy helped me connect with the roots of the tradition in which Taller was founded; it helped me to take a deep breath and remember that serving our clients requires openness to changes in plans.

The famous Lennon quote says, "life is what happens when you're making other plans." How true. It was actually a change of plans that allowed me to stay at Taller de José (after my volunteer year) in the first place. Had I been accepted into the grad school program I was planning on attending, I wouldn't be at Taller today. And how grateful I am in retrospect for that change of plans!

And this training season, I'm learning that my training schedule has to be open to changes in plans too; among other things, European travel took precedence over completing a 14-mile run I had scheduled. It seems a little repetitive to be running the marathon again this year, but I'm continually drawn to it because I learn so much each time around. And the lessons I learn generally are about way more than just running. . I'm grateful that so far this year has been no different.

On Winning the Lottery (Again)

In summer 2013, I introduced my marathon training and fundraising by sharing: "After a fiasco of a registration process, I was lucky enough to "win" an entry to the 2013 Chicago Marathon; I just hope the next time I win a "lottery" it means that I've won money, not that I have to pay a large sum of money (and in order to run 26.2 miles, to boot!)." 

So now that I've "won" the Chicago Marathon lottery again in 2014, I'm not sure whether that makes me unlucky-- the only lotteries I've one require paying money to run absurd amounts of miles-- or lucky -- strangely enough, I actually enjoy running those miles enough to want to pay it!

I'm going with lucky. And I'll tell you why I'm feeling so grateful to be so lucky to be running the Chicago Marathon for Team Taller de José for the 3rd time in a row. 

1. I just really enjoy running! Yes, there are days when I I'm sore and tired and don't want to go to

See, I just really
enjoy running!

bed by 9pm so that I can get up before the sunrise the next day to run 3+ hours. But most often, I enjoy logging the miles, whether it be on Chicago's beautiful lakefront path (another thing I'm grateful for) or through the hills of the Tuscan countryside (more on that in another blog post!). I enjoy finding my pace, falling into a rhythm. I love filling the miles with conversations with my running buddy, with time to let my mind wander and think creatively, or with space to just let my mind be quiet-- a rarity in the busyness of life. 

2. Getting in via the lottery system gives me the opportunity to run on behalf of Taller de José, the non-profit where I have been working for the past three years. If you haven't hear me share about Taller de José yet, it is a unique community resource center located in Chicago's predominantly Latino community called Little Village. I say "unique" because we don't know of many other places that offer the service of accompaniment, in which we walk with individuals and families emotionally, spiritually, and physically to assist them in addressing any obstacles or difficulties they may be facing. Every day, I am in awe of the strength of the men and women who walk through our door, asking us to walk with them, and in awe of our staff (whom we call "compñeras") who respond to that call to accompany them. 

I'm so grateful for all the support and all the friends
who've joined Team Taller  for a full or half marathon.

3. Training for a marathon as part of a team enables me to be a part of a community of runners (into which I've recruited anyone I know with even a mild interest in running, and  this year my running buddy has joined the team too!). The ways in which we accompany one another as we work towards our common goal remind me of the importance of accompaniment. Accompaniment isn't just for the staff and clients at Taller de José; we all need a companion or two on our own journeys!

If you are curious to hear more about our current work at Taller, I invite you check back (or subscribe to get updates) over the next two months as I write about the mission, my experience of working there, and the connections I see between Taller de José and my marathon training. If you can't wait that long, you can visit Taller de José's website here or visit some of my posts from previous years (if you haven't been lucky enough to read them yet ;)). As always, thank you in advance for your prayers, encouragement, and support of Taller de José, and for humoring my efforts to make my life and work interesting to read about!