Nearly a decade ago, I had a conversation with a parishioner at our church, Lucy (name changed). She had been marveling at our family’s yes to adoption and lamenting her husband’s strong aversion to even consider this for their family. Displeased with her spouse, Lucy had been nagging her hubby, diligently working to convince him of the desirability of adoption. Uninterested, he had shut her down on multiple occasions. Touching an inner battle I had been fighting with admiration, turned jealousy, for a friend and her life’s path, my heart ached for Lucy. Gently, I reminded her that adoption might not be her family’s path and that the Lord could be calling her family to a different vocation. Still holding onto the beauty of adoption, she could not set it down. I encouraged her to pray on it. “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm to give you a future with hope.”- Jeremiah 29:11. I am not certain how God spoke to her that day or even over the years, but I do know she has shaped and formed her children into generous, driven, service-oriented adults. Her family serves our Church and community well, using their gifts and talents. Adoption has not been a part of Lucy’s family’s journey. Her life is not mine and mine is not hers, yet each is uniquely holy and serving the Lord.
I think back on that exchange often and recall the fruits it has afforded me. My words of encouragement for Lucy were what I needed spoken to me. It had been planted in my heart to share, yet hearing myself speak the discourse elicited a deep conviction in me. My yes is not another woman’s yes. My journey is unique to me, my calling and the means God has granted me to serve Him. “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry in ministering; the teacher in teaching; the exhorter in exhortation; the giver in generosity; the leader in diligence; the compassionate in cheerfulness.” Romans 12: 6-8. Recognizing that Our Lord asks us each to offer and lead our lives in different manners to serve Him well now brings me consolation. The variety of paths we choose and the yeses He asks of each of us look so wildly different. Providentially, all are saying yes to Him and His plans for us. We repeat this yes as we travel further into the life He has invited us to journey. Our first yes is not our last, it is only the beginning.
Call to Act: I invite you to reflect on your life and the ways you have accepted the Lord’s call. Have these paths required additional yeses along the way? Which unique qualities did He appoint as yours to support you in your life’s work? Do you lean into your first yes when situations are difficult, and as Satan tempts you to question your work? Write down some fruits of your acceptance of your calling. Invoke the Holy Spirit, ask Him to open your mind to goodness, beauty, and truth as well as highlight God’s work through your hands.
St. Teresa of Calcutta, Mother Angelica, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, and St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us that we can see the exquisite beauty in our calls despite the difficulties we may face. Beg God to give us the grace to continue to diligently work for Him, transfixing our eyes on His loving heart. Ask Our Father to offer us moments of clarity and peace amid the daily work of our vocation and yes. Above all, we thank you Lord for calling us to be your own and for allowing us to serve you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.
My girls and my dear friend’s girls. We share the path of adoption yet our yeses to Our Lord look different in so many others ways.
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