Oct 24 2008
On Following the Holy Spirit’s Marching Orders
…You lead me in directions I would not have chosen for myself. Give me the wisdom to discern Your Will and the courage to follow it. – from a prayer by Fr. John Catoir, Joyfully Living the Gospel Day by Day
I’m not living up to my potential and neither are most of you.
Most of us have moments of inspiration. We watch a program about a quadrapalegic woman who learned to paint with a brush in her mouth, or we read an article about a low-income couple who managed to make a home for orphans. We feel uplifted by their courage and inspired by their example.
Then we channel-surf for another hour instead of starting that To Do List we wrote during Lent. Or we continue that novel that’s not really very good – and its subtext might even be bad – because it sure beats spending a couple of hours working on the novels that have been bouncing around our heads for the last decade.
We feel moved, but we don’t move.
It’s bad enough when we succumb to inertia in our daily lives, but what’s worse is when that recurring thought is a Calling. Like the lazy servant in the parable of the talents, we bury that Thing We Should Be Doing. We don’t trust ourselves to do anything with what we have. Even though the Master gave each man according to his ability, we don’t trust God when we see some momentous task. We forget that ”with God all things are possible“ (Matthew 19:26).
I’m not a lazy servant, you think. I’ve got real reasons. I’ve got kids. My job (or two) consumes all my time. I’m too worried about the present to tackle some vague notion. I’m just plain tired.
But compared to Jean-Dominique Bauby, who wrote his autobiography by blinking out the alphabet with his left eye, family and employment and even worries don’t sound like obstacles to achievement.
And, frankly, most of the Holy Spirit’s marching orders (as I like to call them) aren’t so tough. They may be things we don’t want to do. They may be tedious or nerve-wracking. They may involve people with whom we’d rather not talk, or words we’d rather not say (or maybe even words we dread hearing). But most of the time we just need to do something.
So what’s stopping you from what you’re called to do? Are you afraid?
You can take baby steps. It’s like dancing. If you took a lesson for every episode of “Dancing the Stars” that you watch, you might not be Astaire and Rogers, but you and your honey could do more than shuffle and sway at the next wedding reception.
But I don’t have time to even start.
Everyone has time and energy to spend on mindless things, on trifles. The minutes spend in conversation about celebrities alone could be used on a conversation about Someone Important. Or something not so important, like listening to an aged relative tell you (again) about where she grew up and listening to her worries. Instead of surfing the ‘Net or passing on that chain e-mail, you could find out if the local charity needs volunteers or write a letter to your Congressman.
And you know what the best part is? When we think we’ve achieved our full potential, God will show us that we have even more.
Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. – Matthew 19: 21 & 23
