Jean Lagrou

I was not raised in a Catholic family. My mother was not always present in my life and I have no brothers or sisters. In high school, I had a lot of friends that were from strong Catholic families. Their faith and their family relationships were something I really admired. Something I longed for in my own life. I married young, had a family (three, boys) and traveled around the world as an Air Force wife. There were many challenges. When my marriage ended in 1981, I thought I was a failure. I didn’t think I could make it on my own. My self-esteem was gone. I prayed so hard for God to help me through this difficult time.
I believe my first gift of faith came in the form of running. I had set a goal to run the Bloomsday race in Spokane. Each day I would run a little farther and talk with God. God and I talked a lot. He is a very good listener and you know God never sleeps. Sometimes I am shocked at His presence in my life. When I least expect it, problems are solved. I don’t pray a lot, except for the Our Father, not a lot of formal prayers. However sometimes the only stable thing in my life was my faith, it became the glue that held me together, and gave me the strength to hold my family together.
When I crossed the finish line the day of the race, I knew with God’s help I could whip the world!
When I moved to West Seattle I went shopping for a parish. I went to mass at all of the different churches in West Seattle. I read the mission statements, considered the demographics of the congregation, I didn't consider the priest in my evaluation because they come and go.
I chose OLG because of the diverse, faith based community, the young and old working together.