In the summer of 2024, I visited Greece with my younger sister. I hadn’t traveled with her for decades and wondered what it would be like. We’d be spending 2 ½ weeks together. I soon discovered that our sleep schedules weren’t compatible. I required less sleep and found myself alone for several hours each morning. 

During this trip I started journaling. Each morning, I would journal over 2 – 3 cups of coffee followed by prayer, then walking.  I was new to journaling and didn’t know how to do it. I just started by writing down what was on my mind. Every morning it was a new topic on my mind. The journaling evolved to thinking about my life in buckets or categories. I had 4 buckets: spiritual, family, health and career. I would think about these areas of my life and give myself a “grade” on how I was doing in each. If the grade was poor, I began to jot down short-term goals to improve each of these areas. For example, my career was weighing heavily on my mind. I had recently retired from the corporate world a year prior and felt a bit lost and a strong desire to do something. I felt a calling to do something, but I didn’t know what it was. I started having thoughts about opening a private practice in nutrition, something I had thought about 20 years ago or so but never pursued. 

One morning as I was scrolling through social media, I read about Saint Phanourios. This Saint or Agios is commemorated on August 27th of each year.  I was familiar with him and that he helped the faithful find lost objects.  But what I did not know was that Phanourios means “revealer” and learned that he also helps restore health or helps those find their way if they feel ‘lost’. So, I decided to pray to him to help me discover my next career path. 

I journaled about Agios Phanourios and thought about his life for several days during my morning routine. I thought about the 12 tortures that he endured before giving up his Spirit and cried thinking of those tortures and how he endured so much for Christianity.

Usually, when I walk, I tend to go the same direction back, so I don’t get lost (I’ve always been geographically challenged, LOL). On the morning of August 23 on Salamina island, something ‘nudged’ me to walk back a slightly different way. So, I did. I came upon a “kandylaki” or roadside shrine. I have a habit of stopping at these shrines to see who the shrine is commemorated to.  This one was commemorated to Agios Phanourios. I thought ‘Wow, that’s interesting’.  I walked a little further and discovered a church. I also have a habit of stopping at all the churches I encounter on my walks. I check to see if they are open. If they are, I tend to go inside to light a candle and sit in silence for a few minutes. Sometimes I snap some photos. The church I discovered was Agios Phanourios. I walk a bit further and found a ‘plateia’ or town square named after Agios Phanourios.  It had a small water fountain in the center. I finished my walk pondering this coincidence. 

A few days later, my sister and I were traveling from Salamina to another island called Aegina. During an afternoon walk on this island, I saw from a distance an Orthodox priest and a woman unlocking the door of a tiny church. I thought ‘Oh, that’s great. I’ll go and light a candle’. I walked up to the church and from the outside I couldn’t tell who the church was named after. As I got closer, a small plaque indicated that it was Agios Phanourios. I was immediately breathless and speechless, like a strong wave took me under water. What are the odds that our hotel would be minutes away from a church named Agios Phanourios, the same Saint I had been praying to? I went inside feeling shaken and literally breathless.  I felt something inside me. My mouth was dry and I couldn’t focus, almost like I was having an out of body experience. I fumbled inside my purse to find a coin to get a candle. I didn’t have any coins. I lit a candle anyway because I knew I was coming back. In talking with the woman inside the church, she informed me that Vespers that evening were at 7:30 pm and the following day services would be held at 8:30 am to commemorate Agios Phanourios’ Feast Day. I told her that I would be attending services and left, still feeling very shaken, like something had just happened.  

Later that day, on a short walk with my sister, we stopped at a bakery. For those that know me, I love sweets and frequently stop at random bakeries to get something or take photos. In this bakery, they had many Phanouropites (plural for Phanouropita). A Phanouropita means Phanourios cake. This vegan, citrusy cake is made by the faithful who wish to pray to Agios Phanourios. It’s brought to the church on his Feast Day.  Agios Phanourios is known for helping people reveal a lost object, restore health or reveal actions that should be taken. A Phanouropita can be made anytime throughout the year and brought to the Church.

I purchased a Phanouropita because I wanted to thank Agios Phanourios for helping me reveal that I should open a private practice in nutrition therapy.  I should mention that I don’t quite recall the exact day of another “nudge’ that revealed to me to pursue a private practice. I was following a Dietitian/bodybuilder on Instagram. One morning, I reached out to her to express my admiration for her discipline and determination in her training efforts, as she was training for a bodybuilding competition. We chatted back and forth over several days. At one point, she offered me the opportunity to work with her for 3-months as part of an internship. She stated that after the internship the position could potentially become permanent. It was the combination of my morning routine of prayer and being still without distractions, the internship opportunity, the coincidences and a strong gut feeling that led me to pursue a private practice. 

I returned to Chicago on September 3rd. The next day, I began to think through what I needed to do to get my nutrition practice off the ground.  On September 30th, Nutrition Made Simple LLC was launched. The revelation to pursue private practice evolved from my morning practice of sitting still without distractions and pondering what was most important in my life. I don’t ever recall a time where I had this much time by myself with my thoughts. It was a journey of self-discovery. For the first time, I really looked in the mirror and honestly challenged my choices and thought about how I wanted to change my life in all my ‘buckets’. The silence allowed me to think and most importantly listen to my intuition and to Jesus Christ and Agios Phanourios. I now bake Phanouropites for family and friends and miracles continue to happen each day. I feel that Agios Phanourios is constantly with me.