As a priest, I am constantly bombarded with requests. I sit down in the office to catch up on paperwork and someone stops by, "Father, can I talk to you..." Nothing ever seems to get done! I pray and pray, I organize my life more carefully, I avoid taking on extra responsibilities... and still it seems that there is so much to do. I'm sure you know the feeling. So many worries fill our lives: Will I have enough money to send my kids to college? What will I do for my retirement? Is this the right person to marry? Is this the right job? What if I lose my job?...
Relax. Trust.
The only way I got through my first year as a pastor was realizing that the whole thing was God's work, not mine. When I made my own lists of things to accomplish, they seemed to always get frustrated. I started trusting instead that God would give me the strength and grace to accomplish His will for my day. You see, I had been shouldering burdens that were much too big for me, and I knew it. These burdens God intended to carry for me. When I abandoned myself into His will, amazing things would happen. In the same way, we have to trust two simple truths:
- God loves us.
- He knows what is really best for us.
