[caption id="attachment_1916" align="alignright" width="200"] Blog by Associate Mary Ellen George, OPA[/caption]
You're probably familiar with the phrase, "when one door closes, another door opens." But what happens when you're the one who closes the door on others and others await the door's reopening? Recently, I announced to a group, where I've been handling many administrative tasks (budget, grants, publicity, and communications) on a volunteer basis for several years, that I would be stepping down from these roles. Although it is never easy to make such announcements, change and transitions are inevitable in this life and we have to adjust to the seasons of life that come our way. None of us are indispensable but we can leave others with affirmations of their goodness and hopes for renewed growth. I trust and have faith that by listening to the Spirit that guides us, new life can happen.
Perhaps you can remember a time when a door was closed to you or when you closed a door, only to find your life turned seemingly upside down? Loss of a job? Loss of a loved one? Divorce? These times of uncertainty, agony, and rejection often force us to make changes. When these bumpy roads of change happen, I hold steadfast to the belief that another door will open, though the waiting and wondering if a new door will open can challenge my faith.
Every year during Lent, the Scripture passages give us examples of such faith and trust in God through the life of Jesus. Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before he is arrested and crucified, Jesus asks for God to "Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will." (Mark 14: 36). While Jesus struggles with God's will for His life, his faith enables him to trust that by taking up his cross, God's promise of new life would unfold. Did Jesus know his life would be filled with challenges, and did he wonder what would happen to him? Scorned and rejected, I suspect Jesus found God's will for His life quite unbearable at times. But, as he lay crucified on the cross and the door on His life was closing, another door was opening to Him and to us. Through Jesus' resurrection and ascension into heaven, we are lifted up and given hope that doors do open, that stones can be removed, and that doors once closed or where barriers existed can be unlocked, revealing new pathways of life.
Jesus, a man comforted by prayer, teaches us not only through His life but through His words to "ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:9-10)
Is God knocking on your door? Are you ready to open this door and invite God in to explore the possibility of a call to religious life? If so, we invite you to speak with one of our Vocation Ministers.
Blog by Associate Mary Ellen George, OPA[/caption]
You're probably familiar with the phrase, "when one door closes, another door opens." But what happens when you're the one who closes the door on others and others await the door's reopening? Recently, I announced to a group, where I've been handling many administrative tasks (budget, grants, publicity, and communications) on a volunteer basis for several years, that I would be stepping down from these roles. Although it is never easy to make such announcements, change and transitions are inevitable in this life and we have to adjust to the seasons of life that come our way. None of us are indispensable but we can leave others with affirmations of their goodness and hopes for renewed growth. I trust and have faith that by listening to the Spirit that guides us, new life can happen.
Perhaps you can remember a time when a door was closed to you or when you closed a door, only to find your life turned seemingly upside down? Loss of a job? Loss of a loved one? Divorce? These times of uncertainty, agony, and rejection often force us to make changes. When these bumpy roads of change happen, I hold steadfast to the belief that another door will open, though the waiting and wondering if a new door will open can challenge my faith.
Every year during Lent, the Scripture passages give us examples of such faith and trust in God through the life of Jesus. Praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before he is arrested and crucified, Jesus asks for God to "Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will." (Mark 14: 36). While Jesus struggles with God's will for His life, his faith enables him to trust that by taking up his cross, God's promise of new life would unfold. Did Jesus know his life would be filled with challenges, and did he wonder what would happen to him? Scorned and rejected, I suspect Jesus found God's will for His life quite unbearable at times. But, as he lay crucified on the cross and the door on His life was closing, another door was opening to Him and to us. Through Jesus' resurrection and ascension into heaven, we are lifted up and given hope that doors do open, that stones can be removed, and that doors once closed or where barriers existed can be unlocked, revealing new pathways of life.
Jesus, a man comforted by prayer, teaches us not only through His life but through His words to "ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:9-10)
Is God knocking on your door? Are you ready to open this door and invite God in to explore the possibility of a call to religious life? If so, we invite you to speak with one of our Vocation Ministers. 