Guest Blogger: Laura Zambrana
With heart shaped cookies, cups full of warm coffee and plates of paella, families and friends of Walnut Grove gathered to celebrate the cooperators of Walnut Grove for the Annual Cooperators Appreciation Event. The Boles Family Home provided a welcoming and cheerful backdrop for great conversation, lots of fun for the kids and good food for all. The timing of the event added to the festive atmosphere – February 11th – the feast of our Lady of Lourdes and a Saturday and so close to February 14th, when the women’s branch of Opus Dei celebrates its anniversary.
Filled with gratitude, the Walnut Grove team shared a beautiful video documenting the founding of this non-profit run completely by and for women, and the years of events that Walnut Grove has provided. I myself was deeply moved at seeing the impact of the events on generations of women – young and old, single and married over the last 16 years. Many of these women are the very women that I first met when I moved to Los Angeles in 2013. The seeds of faith and formation offered by Walnut Grove through the retreats, events and formation opportunities continue to be a ripple effect of God’s graces in our area creating “One more valiant woman at a time”.
As a token of appreciation, each guest received a beautiful cookie with a paper tag with these words: “We have learned with gratitude, because it makes us realize the happiness we are being called to, that all creatures have been created out of nothing by God and for God.” These words from St. Josemaria Escriva in Friends of God signified not only the affection that Walnut Grove has for its cooperators, but they also sum up Saturday’s event – seeing the joy of all gathered, the friends and kids and families – it truly was a foretaste of the happiness we are being called to!
Let us continue to pray in gratitude for the work of Walnut Grove women everywhere!
Cooperator Appreciation Event Photo Gallery
Photographer: Josie Olaguera