"It
helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The
kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We
accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise
that is God's work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that
the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No
statement says all that could be said.
No
prayer fully expresses our faith.
No
confession brings perfection.
No
pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No
program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No
set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This
is what we are about.
We
plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We
water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We
lay foundations that will need further development.
We
provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We
cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This
enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It
may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity
for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We
may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master
builder and the worker.
We
are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We
are prophets of a future not our own."
This poem/prayer, which is often attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero, but was apparently written by Bishop Ken Untener, has been a prayer that I often come back to. It is a beautiful summation of who we are as Christians and what we are called to strive for. I've felt like this prayer has helped me to put perspective on my life and helped give me the confidence to move forward when I find myself in fear of starting something that I feel a calling or deep desire to do.
Over the last few years I've taken a strong interest in gardening in the hopes of pulling pressure off the food system and helping to feed my family (not too mention feeding the need for a hobby!) I've also decided that I should start writing again and spending more time in reflection and prayer.
This blog came as a fruit of those feelings and then reading this prayer in preparation for some activities at work. It pushed me forward. Of course I'm not the best writer, that does not mean that I shouldn't share my voice. Of course my garden has lots of weeds and has plants (especially the peppers) that have failed to produce any fruit, but that does not mean that I shouldn't keep doing it. It is freeing to remember that we just need to keep trying.
