I read this book on our road trip to Baton Rouge…
The Scent of God by Beryl Singleton Bissell. Memoir.
As a teenager, young Beryl chose a vocation of serving God as a Poor Clare Nun. Named for “a young noble woman of Assisi left her life of privilege to follow an outrageous mendicant in his journey toward Christ”, Poor Clare Nuns live a life of poverty and enclosure.
This book follows Beryl’s teenage years in the early 1950s Puerto Rico, through her decision at 18 to become a cloister nun. I was along for the journey reading of her years of devotion and prayer in the convent in New Jersey and finally to her heart-wrenching decision to leave the convent. Her love affair with a priest is beautiful. She is truly blessed if she is loved. Marriage. Children. Death. Love. Happiness. Sadness. Life. Faith.
Two words: Loved. It.
It’s a true testament to the survival of the human soul and what is possible with God’s love.
Have Faith Everyday 