The Smile of Sister Mary Margaret McKenzie

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Honoring the Life of Sister Mary Margaret McKenzie

She was tall, lanky, and skinny as you might expect a skinny nun who is over 6 feet tall to look. I don’t know if she wore a nun’s head covering or not because, I wasn’t there. I do know this. She was kind and had a smile out of this world. Her name was Sister Mary Margaret McKenzie. She served at Merton’s House of Prayer in St. Louis during the Catholic Charismatic Revival when Heaven pressed through the invisible veil of silence and joyfully introduced herself.

“Jesus can handle even you!” Those were her words, and she meant it. Believed it. Hoped it. Knew it! That’s what made the difference. She truly cared for a young man in his early twenties who came for help during a painful season of despondency. He had assessed his entire future in the light of his current depressing condition. Little did he know that life would, indeed, grow brighter and successful. At that time, though, it seemed impossible. The fact remained; Jesus could handle even him.

Sr. Mary Margaret McKenzie holds a dear place in the legacy of our family because; my husband was the young man who courageously stepped through the doors of Merton’s House of Prayer and asked for help. God met him through a prayerful listening heart.

He initially left their conversation, bent over with his head down, and barely able to put one foot in front of the other. He trudged the way to his car when he heard her voice call out. “Jack!” He turned to see her tall frame filling the open door as she waved with the excitement and joy that marked the era of the Charismatic Revival. With a smile bigger than the open door, taller than a six-foot nun, and deeper than the depths of his pain, Sr. Mary Margaret McKenzie simply said,

“Jesus can handle even you!”

One sentence. One smile. One caring heart filled the chasm of his soul with living hope… a hope that lingers fifty years later.

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Dearest, Reader.

May the light in these words help you to catch a glimpse of how vital your presence is to those around.

One sentence. One smile. One caring heart can fill the chasm in someone’s soul with living hope.

It can cause someone to inhale the breath of God like wind to fill their sail when they feel adrift at sea. It might help someone stand a little taller, lift their head a little higher, and lean into faith that maybe… Jesus can handle even them.

And maybe… Dearest, Reader.

Jesus can handle even you.