What do YOU want to do?

Dolores Hart: beautiful actress of the sixties probably most famous for playing Merit Andrews in "Where the Boys Are" (1960). I have her autograph. But it is not just an autograph. Mother Dolores Hart wrote me a letter and signed her name, as is customary for anyone writing a letter to do. But the story behind it has become a treasured life event for me.

I'm not exactly sure what prompted me to write to her. I'd heard that Mother Dolores Hart would be making an appearance at the 2011 Oscars. HBO actually filmed a documentary about the famous actress now famous for having become a nun, in which her Oscar appearance was highlighted. No fancy evening dress, no immaculate hair, just the simple habbit of a nun. She was incredibly brave to me! Here she was in Hollywood, on the red carpet, right in the middle of every celebrity you could ever imagine...wading a nun's garb of black and white. Not many people would do that. In fact, who else would even have the very unique position of attending the Oscars as a lady of the cloth. (am I allowed to say that... lady of the cloth? :). I'd seen a documentary on her sometime back. Apparently, The Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem Connecticut (Yes, Bethlehem), is unique, in that it is the only abbey that has it's own theater. ""Where the Boys Are" co-star Paula Prentess came to visit her good friend and Mother Delores went for a ride in Paula's convertible, her habit flying behind her in the wind.

I so admired her then because I'd seen her portrayal of Merit. Merit really is one of my favorite movie characters of all time. I remember thinking "you go girl!" when she said the line "What could be more interpersonal than backseat bingo?". Who could imagine a teacher of an Interpersonal Communication class asking what "making out" means? Anyway, Merit's direct, matter of fact answer proves she is a level headed, no nonsense, good girl, who looked out for herself.

I suppose I was lonely, but I really wanted someone to pray for me. I decided to write to her. I looked up the abbey and decided to do a little research on her. This research alone was a sweet journey for me. Dolores was the actress famous for being kissed by Elvis. She had a thriving career and was happily engaged. A friend invited her to stay at the abbey temporarily for a much needed break. By the end of her stay there, the journey of Dolores Hart had taken a completely different direction. I think at the time, I'd wanted my life to take a different direction. Looking back, my life overflowed with opportunities to thank God for, but I felt stuck... trapped... like I couldn't move. I think I just needed some reassurance that we all go through things like this. Anyway, I took pen to paper, and I told (one of my favorite actresses) my story. I sent the letter off, just so amazed that I'd just written to one of my favorite people. (What an honor!) I actually was not expecting Mother Dolores to write me back. But one day, I received an envelope which said: Abbey of Regina Laudis on top. The letter was indeed from Mother Dolores Hart. She thanked me for the letter, and warmly assured me that the sisters at the abbey would be praying for me!! Imagine her taking the time to write me back! I could not believe it, I was flabbergasted! (There's a word I don't often use!).

I carry her letter with me to this day! In doing my research on Mother Dolores, I came across a lecture she gave to a group of college students somewhere on the east coast. In it, she explained the events that led up to her living in the abbey permanently. She said her fiancee at the time could tell she was not happy with her life and urged her to get on a plane to revisit the abbey and "see what was bothering her.". Dolores did. And she sat in the Reverend Mother's office weeping... saying she only wanted to know what God's will was. "What do you want to do?" The Reverend Mother asked her. "I want to do God's will," she replied. "God knows very well what his will is; I'm asking you what you want to do," said the Reverend Mother. It was then that Dolores finally knew she was going to stay. I'll never forget this very direct question. God's will is so good for us... but at times the process of knowing it is so life changing that we deny what he's telling us. The journey we walk when we live radically for Him, causes us to walk away from things we thought we could never live without, so we can walk into a destiny created for us, so perfectly suited to who we are, that we could never have imagined it!!