All for the Lord

We are in a state of flux. Fewer people live in the same town in which we were born, work in the same job from school until retirement, or remain in the same marriage until death as was common only a generation or two ago. The uncertainty of where we live and work, may, at least in part, be responsible for our resistance to make and keep a commitment.

The marriage rate continues to decline in the United States as well as people entering the priesthood and religious communities. When we do commit, more often it is at a significantly older age. This may indicate the acknowledgement of the seriousness of the decision and desire to fulfill it to the best of our ability. According to the State of Our Union 2011 report, the chance of divorce is very low for people who are educated with a decent income, come from an intact family, are religious, and marry after the age of 25 without having a baby first.

At only ten years of age, Saint Theodora made a commitment to serve God. She was merely a child when she heard her call. She thought she could do this best as a religious woman, but she left that path to God. She patiently waited years beyond when she thought was the time to enter a community until her mother gave her blessing. Saint Theodora trusted that if that is what God wanted of her, it would happen in God’s way and time.

Committing ourselves to the Lord is really the only commitment that needs to be made. Once we hold true to that promise, God will reveal how we should do this. Whenever we are relating to other people, whether it be at a homeless shelter or in our own home, our diocese or company office, if God is at the center of our thoughts, words, and actions we are committing to God’s plan for us. God will lead us to the role in which we can serve the Lord by serving others.

©2014, Mary K. Doyle