January, 2023 - Kristen Ann McLaughlin

The toolshed that turned into a cabin and kept on growing…

After the building of the toolshed (which had turned into a cabin) had been finished, we stained it Bluestone Gray, put in window boxes for spring planting, and came up whenever we could. Since Buzz didn’t teach Jan term or summer courses, and I could write from anywhere, we were in New Hampshire often, always working on the place, always busy with some project.

The next undertaking was to build a storage shed, since we couldn’t store anything in what we’d just built–it was now our little retreat house. Friends and family members often came up to help us.

Ora et Labora

God does indeed work in strange and mysterious ways.

When we were building what we thought was a toolshed and then became the core of our home, we were Protestants attending a Presbyterian church in New Jersey.

One Sunday our pastor gave a sermon in which he told the story of how he become lost one night while traveling and, feeling desperate, spotted a Benedictine monastery sign. Seeing a light still on, he turned into the monastery to ask for directions, but ended up–since hospitality is one of the pillars of Benedictine life–spending the night, enjoying conversation with the monks, and also admiring a sign proclaiming the Benedictine motto: “Ora et Labora,” prayer and work.