Four Little Plum Trees: A Vocational Story

Written by guest blog writer, Sr. Christina M. Neumann

Sharing one’s story isn’t always easy. However, as a Franciscan sister, it’s something I’ve been asked to do from time to time.  

On one such instance, I sat down beforehand to think and pray more about what I would say. As I did so, my four little plum trees came to mind for some reason. As I thought more about them, I realized that there are several parallels between their development and my own vocation.

Several years ago, we visited the niece of one of our Sisters, who lived outside the city. Among other things, she gave us some plums. I pitted them with some of the residents at the assisted living home where I worked and made plum jam. Rather than throwing out the pits, I saved several of them, washed them, and stuck them in our raised garden beds over the winter. (I learned that plum pits need a cold period in order to germinate.) When spring came that year, the pits had sprouted. I put them in little pots and nursed them over the summer. In the fall, I had four healthy seedlings. (Others hadn’t done so well or had been given away.)

At Baptism, we are given the seed of faith. We have to decide throughout our life what to do with it—to throw it out or preserve and nurture it. We’re also given a vocation in life, a way that God is calling us to follow Christ and become saints. The question becomes: Do I recognize it? Do I take time to foster the growth of my faith and my vocation?

My vocational journey was a process. I wasn’t born knowing I was going to be a Franciscan sister in North Dakota. (In fact, I used to make a little bit of fun of North Dakota, where my mom’s family was from. Boy, that came back to bite me!)

Like my little trees, my vocational discernment took time to grow. It was the summer of my freshman year of college when the idea of being a sister came to me at Adoration at our parish, but it wasn’t until four years later that I found where I would live out that vocation.

During that time, I had my own struggles of various kinds; I had to go through my own winter before the seed of my vocation would germinate. One thing that was hard for me was not knowing where I should go.

As I thought and prayed about my future, I learned more about what I would like to see in a religious community (for example, religious garb, devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, a variety of apostolates, and a strong community life). I visited different communities. It was a challenging time in its own way.

A relationship with Jesus is so important in growing our vocation! How are we going to know (or care about) what He wants us to do if we’re not spending time with Him and working on that relationship?

Yet, we’re not on this journey alone. Our maintenance man has helped me with my little trees. He dug the holes, and together, we planted the four seedlings. He surrounded them with leaves and netting to protect them over the winter, and he continues to fertilize them.

Similarly, when I was exploring my vocation and trying to figure out where God wanted me, I had help from others. My mom was praying for me. (I had sworn her to secrecy, but she was having trouble keeping quiet about it!)

I also had help from our pastor. I met with him a couple of times. After one of these visits, he offered to walk me out and asked where I was parked. I told him, having some fun, “In between the two sets of doors.” I have a vision impairment and am not able to drive a car, so I had biked to the church to meet with him.. This fact has definitely made life more of an adventure for me! In a sense, one might say that this challenge, among others, has been a form of pruning in my life.

Last month, a volunteer and I pruned my little trees (now about five feet tall) so that they would focus their energy on growing up rather than getting bushy. We also eliminated competitor branches and branches that were growing toward the trunk, which would cause problems down the road.

In the course of their growth, the plums have moved from the gardens to pots to the outdoors at our convent. In my life, God has placed me in different places at different times, and all of these places taught me something. For example, while I was exploring, I visited a community in Connecticut with a lot of silence. While I realized that there is a definite spiritual benefit of having times of silence, the experience also taught me that a lot of silence was not a great fit for me, personally.

During my time of trying to find “the right place,” I rode on the bus through Amish country in Wisconsin and ended up in Chicago (the guys who boarded the bus at one point smelled like they’d just finished their chores!).

Soon after arriving, I realized that the community in Chicago was not right for me. I contacted other convents in that city to see if there was another place to visit rather than wasting these sisters’ time (and my own). I ended up spending a couple of days with some Franciscan sisters, who “happened” to be having a “Come & See” at the time.  Before then, I hadn’t been open to the possibility of a Franciscan community. Although I didn’t feel called to pursue that one, it opened me up to the possibility of joining the Franciscan order. Soon after that trip, I found the Franciscan Sisters in Hankinson, North Dakota. Life is certainly a journey!

These parts of my journey may seem like little details, so often, it’s little things that make a difference. Life is made up of little moments—little details.

During this time, I had in the back of my mind, “This is what I’m supposed to do, so I’ll do it.” My parents, especially my dad, had instilled in me this readiness to do what is right and what God asks of us; for example, going to church on Sunday was not optional in our home.

However, when I was in formation in Hankinson, as I learned more about religious life, my motivation changed from duty into desire—I really wanted this life! I was learning more about the spousal dimension of consecrated life, about giving oneself to Jesus in a special way. I saw what a beautiful vocation it is! Some years later, when I made final vows, I prostrated myself on the floor of our chapel in Hankinson, as if to say, “I give myself to You; I am yours.” I made the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, promising to imitate my Beloved, the poor, chaste, and obedient One par excellence.

My growth and journeying did not end that day, just like my trees’ development didn’t end when we stuck them in the ground a couple of years ago. Right now, they actually look pretty bare, but if you look closely, you can see some green tips on some of the branches—signs of hope and life.  

I pray that my life may be united continually to Jesus and that I may produce much spiritual fruit for Him, just as I am hoping that, someday, we have big trees that produce plums.

I pray that you, too, through faithfulness in the little details of life, may continue to grow and bear fruit in whatever way the Lord is inviting you.

SISTER CHRISTINA M. NEUMANN:  After serving at St. Anne’s, a home for the elderly and disabled, for fourteen years, where she helped in a variety of roles, Sister Christina is now at her community’s provincial house and retreat center in Hankinson, North Dakota. Along with other work there, she also keeps up a blog, Our Franciscan Fiat, on behalf of her Community.