Katie's prayer: Steven Curtis Chapman's "The Walk"

You're not meant to do this walk alone. In fact, just yesterday, I was watching a video clip in preparation for Confirmation classes in January. It was a video from Mark Hart to Confirmation sponsors informing them of the great task ahead of them. Sponsors need to be deeply involved with their candidate. Not just throughout the Confirmation preparation process, but throughout the candidate's entire life! Mark explained it by saying you were joining the candidate on their walk, and God was walking with you too.

He had so much good information to say about the candidate/sponsor relationship. A lot of good information that I wish I had heard before choosing my sponsor back in 8th grade. I chose my aunt, the only adult Catholic in my family (with the exception of my parents). I love my aunt very dearly, but she's not the greatest role model faith wise. She's not someone I can go to with my prayer requests, not someone I can seek spiritual direction from, barely even someone I can talk to about my current job. I believe the only reason she's even entered a Church of any kind in the past 10 years or so was for weddings, funerals, and Confirmation ceremonies (upon my adding, 5 times total). As I watched Mark talking yesterday, I couldn't help but wish I could just take everything back, go back in time and choose someone else.

Unfortunately, that's not an option. But there are a few things I can do. I can continue to pray for my aunt, hoping that maybe someday she'll want to become a religious person again. I can try to talk to her about things. But most importantly, I can stress to all the candidates I will be teaching very soon that their sponsor should be someone that they can turn to for advice or help with faith related issues. Someone they are willing to invite on their walk for life.