Serving

I often compartmentalize. I box myself into categores like mom, wife, daughter/sister/friend, missions team leader, worship leader, artist, teacher, etc. They do overlap some in my mind, but I was really challenged when I read this post by Jennifer at Conversion Diary . It's caused an acceleration in this perspective shift that's been happening in me these last few weeks.

She quotes from the book He Leadeth Me by Fr. Walter Ciszek, a priest who went to serve in Russia and served 20+ years in a prison after being accused of being a Vatican spy:

Our whole purpose [in Russia] -- as indeed in our whole lives -- was to do the will of God. Not the will of God as we might wish it...or as we thought in our poor human wisdom it ought to be. But rather the will of God as God envisioned it and revealed it to us each day...His will for us was the 24 hours of each day: the people, the places, the circumstances he set before us in that time. [...]

Whatever I'm doing, whether it's making supper, changing a stinky diaper, grading math tests, making lesson plans, or ministering at church, it's service to God. I'm getting away from the attitude of "I've got to hurry up and get this (menial) task done so I can go serve in a bigger way over there" and find contentment in the fact that this task, whatever it is, is the way God has called me to serve right now in this moment.

Jennifer says all of these things and more much better than I could, so I'll leave it at that and let you go read her post. Potentially life-changing...