Meet the New JOYFUL! Editor: Leah Muller
The WCI is thrilled to have Leah Muller step into the role of Editor for JOYFUL! Our Executive Director sat down with Mrs. Muller to discuss this.
Theresa: Hi Leah! We are so grateful and blessed to have you on our team and especially to have you step into this role of Editor to our precious communique JOYFUL! Will you share with our readers a little bit about yourself and your family?
Leah: Thanks, Theresa; it is a gift to be part of this beautiful community that has blessed our marriage so much in the past year. My husband and I are both from Louisiana; however, we met in college at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, MS. We married a few years later, while I was teaching French at my high school and he was in medical school. We moved to North Carolina for residency, then Jackson, MS for his first job, only to finally land back here in our home state two years later. We homeschool our 6 children and are about to move into our (God-willing) ‘forever’ home after going through the building process for over a year.
Theresa: I remember when we started the conversation with you about training leader couples back in June of 2023. We didn't even have our materials printed yet, do you remember? Y'all were so patient and wonderful. You and Sam were part of our very first Leader Couple Training Course. Do you remember what prompted you to first reach out to the WCI? What were you looking for?
Leah: Yes, I remember that vividly. I don’t think I realized, though, how early on the uptake we were. A friend of mine who was in a Domestic Church circle heard about The Rule and suggested that our prayer group read it over the summer. A few of us felt so inspired by it that we, on a whim, decided to reach out to you. We were all craving true community and knew that there was something to JPII’s Rule that would facilitate this. The rest is history!
Theresa: Your MCG (Married Couple Group) has just flourished! We had the great blessing of meeting your group and their families last Christmas season. Our children still speak about how they tried "real southern Louisiana food" which now they know "is different than New Orleans food"! Such a blessing! What has been your experience with the leading a Married Couple Group so far?
Leah: As they would say here in Lafayette, “cher bébé!” Southern Louisianians definitely express their love through food! It was such a blessing for us, too, and we all still talk about how impressive your kids were. It’s rare to find a teenage boy who isn’t attached to his smartphone, but unheard of to find one who doesn’t even know how to use one! Saying ‘yes’ to the Lord always pays off (duh). Sam and I were hesitant to commit to leading an MCG (where will we find the time? The sitters? The energy?) But we all prayed the Surrender Novena, per your suggestion, and felt like God was asking us to figure out all the logistics in that moment. He was just inviting us to give our fiat. And wow, are we glad we did! There have been many real and ideal moments for our group, but we are so thankful for each other and all the graces we give and receive from our weekly meetings.
Theresa: As Executive Director of a budding non-profit, and a volunteer myself, I have been doing quite a great deal to get the ball rolling. And beginning a quarterly newsletter was important to us to communicate in one place who we are to others, but also let members share stories between themselves, and see what is going on in other parts of the world! As we grow and I continue my studies to further underline all we are doing, it is important to delegate many of these tasks. However, JOYFUL! is one closest to my heart and I knew it would have to be someone special to take over, and I know that is you. In the year I have known you, I have found you to be determined, yet kind, organized, yet sympathetic, a leader and a listener. That is exactly the balance we need even in JOYFUL! - the balance of the real and the ideal. What do you look forward to most in this role as Editor?
Leah: Your passion for the mission of the WCI is contagious. And your hard work inspires others, like me, to rise to the challenge of giving more of myself to it. I feel indebted to the WCI for bringing Sam and me to a new level of conjugal spirituality and “oneness.” It’s a JOY to give back to the WCI in this way. I want everyone to answer the call to strengthen their marriage through living out the Rule!
Submissions to JOYFUL! can be sent to joyful@wojtylaci.com