Are you doing the work God has called you to do?‏

Dearest Ones,

Most of us will never be called to serve God from some grand, public stage. Our "stage" will be our living rooms and kitchens, our backyards, maybe the garage or the workplace. The point isn't where we serve Him...the point is are we serving Him? Are we doing our best? Are we using our talents? Are we listening for His leading? Are we giving our all? Or are we ignoring His direction and doing things our way? No matter where God has placed us, no matter what our circumstances, or no matter the messes we've made in our lives, He's given us gifts and work to do. We need to seek His purpose and His will for our lives. No matter what God has called us to do...big or small, it's never too late. Everything is for His glory. Are you doing the work He's called you to do? My sister, Angie, recently shared this inspiring poem with me:

BE THE BEST OF WHATEVER YOU ARE
If you can't be a pine on the top of a hill, be a scrub in the valley But be the best little scrub on the side of the hill.Be a bush if you can't be a tree, If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grassAnd some highway happier make. If you can't be a muskie, then just be a bass,But the liveliest bass in the lake. We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,There's something for all of us here. There's big work to do and there's lesser work, too,And the thing we must do is the near. If you can't be a highway, then just be a trail.If you can't be the sun, be a star. It isn't by size that you win or you fail.Be the best of whatever you are!
- Douglas Maloch

Wouldn't it be a different world if each morning everyone surrendered their lives to God? Maybe on the way to work, or sometime during the day, they simply asked God to take control of their day. He knows how to do this. He's done it before and He will always be capable of handling anything in our lives that is too big for us. He's begging us to leave everything in His hands...that dreaded doctor's appointment, the unpaid bills, the sick relative, etc. No problem is too big for Him. The key to happiness is surrendering. It takes a lot of courage and faith to leave our problems in God's care. The devil wants us to believe we have disappointed God and that is why we have problems. Not true! The problems are what drive us to God. They bring us closer and so, in that sense, they are for our good.I volunteer at a 200-bed local hospital, where I greet visitors, look up room numbers on the computer, give directions, etc. It's not just the work that inspires me, it's also the people I meet. One by one, they tell me their story. There's the brave stroke patient, who has been coming for five years for revitalizing activity, the new baby, just two days old, going home with the proud parents, the heroic courage of the double amputee - many are going through hard times. What can I do to help? I try to comfort them, yet feel so powerless. Then I realize I can pray for them, as they tell me their story. My desk is right across the hall from the Adoration Chapel, where, night and day, throughout the week, someone is praying. I unite my prayers to those who are praying. Jesus longs to receive the hurts and worries of all His children. He longs to bandage them up with hope and joy. HOPE is what I feel at the hospital, it's what keeps all of us going. In the end, I think that's our purpose in life, to give each other hope.

All my love and prayers,
Sister Francelle