Do you know that you are chosen by God to live at this exact time and place to fulfill a specific purpose or mission?
We may never see or understand what that purpose is until we complete our time here and arrive in heaven, but it is there. We also do not always cooperate with God in the way that He calls us to, so sometimes our missions are not fulfilled. This is one of the many reasons prayer is so important, to help us discern what God’s will is for us. We all have free will and therefore the choice whether to follow God’s plan, which is perfect, or another plan, which is not. When we do not pray, that is where sin and evil can enter in because we may not know how to cooperate with God in His plans for us (another blog post for another day…).
For many of us, our mission also includes being a parent to the precious souls God entrusts us with. He specifically chooses each child for us, each with their own purpose or mission, knowing exactly who they are and exactly who we are, with each of our unique gifts and personalities.
A few years ago during my first silent retreat at the Jesuit Spirituality Center in Grand Coteau, Louisiana, I was praying with John Chapter 15, specifically verse 16 where Jesus tells us, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain”.
During this intimate prayer time, Jesus spoke to my heart these most beautiful words that I believe are not meant just for me, but to be shared with others:
‘I chose you before I even formed you in your mother’s womb. I have been with you all along. I knew the things you would do and I still chose you. Look at the cemetery [I was walking through the beautiful cemetery at the Retreat Center], do you not think every one of them made mistakes, even my holy priests? Look at Saint Ignatius life and the mistakes he made [specifically before his conversion].
Wouldn’t you still choose your own children even after the mistakes they have made and the troubles they have given you? They would still choose you as their mother, even after the mistakes you have made with them.
You are mine. I still choose you and always will.
I already know the times you will turn away from me in the future. I will be with you then also.
I have chosen each of your children as will. They are mine. I will also be with them in their struggles and their sin. I will be there to show them the way, the light, and the truth, because you have asked me to. How can I resist? Of course it is my will, so I will answer this prayer. I am with them even when they reject me, because you asked. Trust, my daughter, trust. Continue to ask me to be with others who are far from me. I will always answer this prayer.’
Our amazing God chooses you.
You also have a choice. Choose Him too so that you may say “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. (Joshua 24:15)
Living GRACE-fully 