God's Plan vs. Our Plan

This week's homily was by a priest in charge of the diocesan vocations for priests, nuns and other religious positions. Being married, the only area of interest for me would be becoming a deacon, but I believe that will have to wait until the kids are out of the house.

In any event, he began his homily with a very simple, yet powerful statement. He explained the God has a plan for all of us and it is up to us as to whether we will follow that plan.

I thought about that for a long time... God has an individually designed specific divine plan for each and every one of us. And, with Free Will, we have the ability to either take that path or ignore God's call. For a long time, I wondered how I was to meld my creative passions with my faith and am actively working toward that end. But is that the right path? My path?

And, yet, I am reminded by the writings of St. Paul when he states that we are all part of God's one body. That, just as our body is made up of different organs and functions, we too bring different talents, skills and paths to God's body. Some of us are apologists, some of us raise our children with God as a focus, some of us evangelize, some of us write, some of us paint, some of us sing, some of us help, some of us lead, some of us follow... but with each skill comes a unique path that God has laid for us... will we take it? I'm sure there will be bumps in the road and the path may, at times, look as if it is leading us into trouble or discomfort, but if it is laid by the Creator, then why do we resist taking it?

I continue to ponder that question, what is God's path for me? And am I willing to trust Him enough to take it? It is only through prayer that the answer will be shown to me... do I have enough faith to pray and ask for that answer? What if God wants me to do something I don't want to do?

Ugh... faith... it sure ain't easy.