EVERETT

Though she isn’t looking to provoke a reaction, Miriam James Heidland does almost every time she goes out in public.

Whether it is at the grocery store, a restaurant or the mall, people invariably respond to the sight of Heidland.

People stare and sometimes even go so far as to point her out to others. Heidland has been known to even cause some individuals to stop their conversations in mid-sentence.

Perhaps the most memorable exchange occurred at a Wal-Mart store when a woman pulled out her checkbook and wrote a check out to Heidland.

The woman said that she had not seen a nun in 20 years before running into Sister Miriam James Heidland in her habit and veil.

This fall, Heidland, 31, is turning heads at Archbishop Murphy High School where she is the junior varsity volleyball coach.

Wildcats head coach Jim Hardy met Heidland about a year and a half ago at a coaches’ clinic at the University of Washington. He asked her to come to Archbishop Murphy last year but Heidland, who teaches music and physical education at St. Alphonsus Church in Ballard, was just starting her first year of teaching at the school and wasn’t able to work it into her schedule. This year, changes in her teaching schedule enabled Heidland to join the Archbishop Murphy coaching staff.

Freedom

Heidland grew up in Woodland, a small town about three hours north of Portland, Ore. Her parents were devout Catholics and the family attended church every week.

Back then, Heidland went by her baptismal name, Sharon. When she joined the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), Father James Flanagan, the founder of the order, chose her new name in the tradition of the church.

Heidland played different sports growing up but excelled at volleyball. She eventually earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Nevada – Reno.

When she left home, Heidland was looking forward to the freedom that she would be able to experience at college. Heidland found a boyfriend on the football team, but soon fell into a scene of drinking and partying.

Heidland stopped going to church regularly, even though the closest Mass was just a few blocks away.

“I did what everybody else was doing,” Heidland said. “It didn’t make me happy. I thought it would make me happy — the idea of freedom.”

Heidland came to the conclusion that being able to do whatever she wanted to do wasn’t really being free.

“I don’t think that going out and getting smashed and partying all the time, that’s not why we’re here on Earth,” Heidland said. “We’ve got better things to do.”

At the end of her freshman year, Heidland began to reevaluate her life. She started going to church again and reconnecting with her religious roots.

Heidland then had an experience where she saw herself at the end of her life. That prompted her to ask some tough questions.

“What is the meaning of life? Why am I really here? Does my life make a difference? If I wasn’t here, would anybody notice?”

Heidland spent the next three years contemplating those questions and the answers led her to make a life-changing decision.

A calling

Heidland wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life after graduating with a degree in communications.

She moved back to Woodland and was considering a career in the media. Heidland realized she wanted something more meaningful. A friend who was a priest invited her to visit a SOLT mission in New Mexico. The visit turned into an extended stay for Heidland, who lived with the Sisters.

“That was really when I heard Jesus calling me to become a Sister,” Heidland said.

At 22, Heidland took the first steps toward becoming a nun. Once she made the decision, everything started to fall into place.

“I’m not the kind of person that can do a little bit here and a little here,” Heidland said. “I think I have to give myself totally and for me, that was the best option. When I realized that Jesus was calling me I was like, ‘That makes sense. That’s what I’ve been looking for.’ … For me I knew at that instant, that’s what God was telling me do to do. I’ve known ever since.”

Heidland is scheduled to make her final vows on Dec. 8, almost a decade after she started the journey.

A challenging path

Even though she heard the call, the decision to answer was up to Heidland.

“You have a while to really make sure that number one — is Jesus calling you? — and number two — do you want to do it?” Heidland said. “It’s a two-way street.”

It hasn’t always been easy for Heidland.

“I really had no idea just how full I was of the mentality of the world — if you don’t like something, then quit,” Heidland said. “If it’s not fun for you, then do something else. I really had to soul search.”

Many of Heidland’s friends did not understand her decision to become a nun. They and others wondered why she would embrace poverty, chastity and obedience in a world that seems at odds with those values.

“I had to follow Christ,” Heidland said. “It’s definitely been a challenging path. But at the same time it’s been the most rewarding and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Heidland’s parents were supportive of her decision. Years later, Heidland found out that her mother had prayed that she would become a nun.

Heidland acknowledges the sacrifices she’s making, but also the opportunities. Heidland likely will serve in missions around the world.

People also can misconstrue the meaning of her vows. For example, some think that the vow of chastity cuts her off from others.

“But that’s not it,” Heidland said. “You’re free to love totally. You give your life to Christ. Everybody becomes your responsibility, in a sense. I meet people all the time and I pray for them. It is a sacrifice, but there’s always a tremendous gift that comes with it.”

Though she will not have children of her own, Heidland considers herself a mother to the players on the volleyball team and her students.

Wherever she goes and whomever she meets, Heidland takes those people into her heart and prays for them.

“You give up certain things, but then you receive Christ and you receive the church and you receive all these people,” Heidland said. “The benefits far outweigh the sacrifices when you really look at it.”

Preaching the gospel

While there are orders where the nuns do not wear the habit and veil, that wasn’t Heidland’s path.

“You get these reactions, (but) it’s not about me,” Heidland said. “It’s not this or that. It’s about Christ and we’re preaching the gospel, so people have a right to know that, in my opinion. I’ve given my life to Christ.

The response Heidland often receives when she meets children is one of confusion. They have no idea of what a nun is.

“That just breaks your heart,” Heidland said. “You would have never heard of that 40 years ago.”

Even at Archbishop Murphy, Heidland is the first nun that most of the players have been around. Heidland’s approach to coaching is to take different elements from the coaches she’s played under and incorporate them into her own style. She describes herself as not really a yeller or a screamer, but someone who tries to be positive and encouraging.

In the end, it’s not really about volleyball, though. Pope John Paul II viewed sports as a way to learn sacrifice, discipline and hard work, Heidland said.

“Those are things you learn in the spiritual life and so it’s really an avenue for grace and to better yourself as a person,” Heidland said. “This is volleyball and that’s important, but my real goal is to get them to heaven. I want to pray for them. I want to be around them and I want to encourage them on the path to holiness.

“For me, sports are a means to an end, just like anything in life. It’s not the end in itself.”