The Voice of God

Not posting much recently. It come from a combination of not enough time and too many of the same thoughts running around and around my head.

"The good God has given you His work. He wants you to do His work in His way. Failure or success means nothing to Him, as long as you do His work according to His plan and His will."
Mother Teresa - Love: A Fruit Always in Season, 3rd week of Lent, Friday

Knowing that success is not the point is rather comforting. However, the bigger question is, how do I know what is the work of God for me?

I am a mother and I homeschool my children. Both these jobs take the majority of my time and energy. Many people in the world would tell me that I chose to have children and I chose to homeschool them.  God did not make me do either of these things. So, these are not necessarily the work of God for me, since I created the work myself. 

But the world overlooks this - discernment. Listening to the voice of God. I felt...let's say called... to have children. I felt called to homeschool them (in a long and twisted way. It was never my plan or intent really, but the road ran that way and I followed. Eventually, I DID choose it, but it took a while. But that is another story.).

In order to know the work God has for me, I must listen for the voice of God in my life. That comes only when you are open to hearing it. What does it take to be open? It takes prayer, humility, times of quiet (no matter how brief), and the willingness to do what is asked. How does one hear the voice of God? It can come in many ways - the advice of friends; that small, still voice in the center of one's being; weighing pros and cons, or even something as mundane as a magazine advertisement (which is how I ended up getting a Master's degree in Theology - again, another story for another day).

I find it very challenging to know what God is calling me to.  Sometimes I DO create the work in my life - too many times when I do not say no and get over-committed, too many times I do not do things properly and end up with a bigger mess, too many times when I do not take the time to stop and listen and find out what it is I am really supposed to be doing.

That is the time to return to quiet discernment. Taking the time to really try to understand what it is I am supposed to be doing here....now....

These last weeks of Lent, I commit to listening to the voice of God in my life, and being ready to follow, even if it does not lead to success.

Amen!