The image of a restless heart is one of a person set adrift from his center in the turmoil of the world. We can reflect on Saint Augustine’s famous remedy, “O Lord God, you have made us for Thyself, and my soul is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.” As a frequent visitor on our playscape, farmland, and lush gardens at Saint Constantine, I embrace the sea of opportunity present whence cometh the young inquiring minds, seeing a possible docking spot in me, a trusted family-friendly religious person, struggling just as they with many demands at once and keeping virtue and safety in mind at all times... as well as enjoying fun in the sun with companions.

Prophet King David spoke of this journey also in Psalm 114 (115):4-8, citing simplicity and humility of heart as key.

“O Lord, deliver my soul; gracious is the Lord, and righteous, yea, our God is merciful.
The Lord preserveth the simple; I humbled myself, and He saved me.
Turn again then into thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath prospered thee.
For He hath delivered my soul from death,
mine eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.
I will be well-pleasing before the Lord in the land of the living.”

As a caregiver in both the Nursery and the Toddler Room—and as a displaced Orthodox nun blessed to work as a missionary—I find here daily multiplied in community my own struggle to live in repentance, to gain some degree of virtue, and to live the Christian life in this world that fights the presence of Christ every moment.

As a community, we are careful to show remembrance of His provision and teachings as we pray daily, asking intercessions of the Theotokos and many saints of the day besides the protection of our patron Saint Constantine. We give reverence everywhere to their spiritual presence. When I asked our precious little EvanMarie the name of her church, she had the presence of the Holy Spirit so deeply in her little self that she replied, “The name of my church is Saint Jesus!”

In conclusion, I want to share with everyone at Saint Constantine the importance of Psalm 114:

"Keep your life simple....in gratitude, in forgiveness, in repentance, and the fear of God, the wisdom of the Church, and the boundless mercies of our Lord so that you and those thousands around you will find peace for your restless heart."

Psalm 114