Sister Edwardine Flavin

(Published Dec. 12, 2008)

Sister Edwardine Flavin believes that “as you grow older you become more conscious of what is important in life. When you are younger, you are building your potential – what you think you should be doing or what you would like to be. You learn that a lot of things are not really that important.”

“I was in business college in Topeka,” she explains, “when my brother, who worked in Wichita, was in a diabetic coma. Our parents suggested that I go to Wichita, get a job, and live with him so I could cook and be there if he needed anything. It was the right thing to do. I wanted to do it. In Wichita I ran around with kids who were good kids but focused on themselves, on having fun. For awhile I had a good time but kept thinking ‘There has to be more important things in life than this.’

“A co-worker invited me to go to something similar to an RCIA class. I did and ended up talking with a priest. It was time to make a different decision about life. I still have the letter from Mother Chrysostom when I wrote asking to enter the community. She said that ‘being a Sister of St. Joseph is working in God’s Defense Plant,’ which was a reference to the kind of work I was doing.

Sister Edwardine learned to not “feel responsible for the outcome of things. I pray for people. I pray for the success of this or that, but I realize I don’t have to be responsible for it. A family member shared with me a popular poem that talks about God sending us a letter saying He will be taking care of our problems today and does not need our help. If you have any worries, you are to put them in God’s box and let Him handle them. If you take that to heart, it brings you much peace.

“Everything we have is a gift from God. I look back on all the people I have known and marvel at how many sacrifices they have made. There are so many good people – people who don’t make the headlines yet give so much to so many. Those realizations are among the important things in life that I have come to savor. I just want to live each day relaxed and peaceful, trusting in God. When I keep the important things in mind, that just happens naturally.”