I don't really recall a particular moment when I realized that Anna (Sr. Anna Rose) was going to be a religious sister; it was more gradual. When she did enter, I do remember feeling at peace that she found her vocation, and then thinking, "Shouldn't I feel something really special because she's a religious sister?" Our middle daughter Melanie was married the same year that Anna entered, and I also felt at peace that she found her vocation - or rather, their vocations found them. As a father, I pray that my children will be happy, but I realize that they are going to have difficult times as well.
I feel blessed that Anna is a religious sister, and I miss her too. I also feel that anyone who lives a Christian life, who believes in absolutes, is going to feel tension. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) warned in 2005, “We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one’s own ego and one’s own desires.” I don't know this for a fact, but I would think that vowed religious generally face more challenges than others.
It is said that girls tend to marry men similar to their fathers, and as a religious sister Anna's spouse is Jesus. I think that's really cool :-)
I know that religious life has its challenges as does any vocation. As a husband and father, I know that I can count on my loved ones (wife, family, friends) when I need help, support, advice, etc. I trust that Anna has the same opportunities for support in her community.
I see Anna as being happy in the convent. She has an eternal perspective. I know that she will have difficult times as well, as with any vocation.
