“Companions on the
Journey” was the topic of a talk by Edna Truitt Noiles, a 1944 Elon alumna, at
Chapel in Whitley Auditorium on Thursday, April 12.
Noiles gave a personal
account of how her perspective changed after her youngest child left for college.
At that point in her life, her work as a wife, mother, church member and
community volunteer no longer seemed adequate, she said.
“My soul felt dried out,
and I needed new companions for the journey ahead,” she said. Noiles turned to
a Catholic nun for spiritual direction, which brought healing and renewal
through silence and prayer, she said.
Noiles encouraged the
group of Elon students, faculty and staff to widen their own circles of
compassion, and said that God is eager for them to participate.
“If you have a dream or
mystical experience, find somebody to talk it out with,” she said. “Find
companions for your journey to help you in your explorations.”
Noiles and her husband,
Doug, will receive honorary doctor of humane letters degrees during Elon’s
Spring Convocation for Honors later today. The Noiles are among Elon’s most
generous benefactors. In 2003, the couple made a $1 million gift to endow the
Vera Richardson Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life on campus.