Are You a Planner?

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I read this in the Laudate App the other morning, and it really inspired me:

The day's reflection spoke of God choosing souls "to whom his grace will mean something, those in whom there is fertile ground for a response to his invitation to holiness. . . No abundance of religious achievement or spiritual knowledge will catch his attention but put in front of him a contrite soul ready to abandon himself to his grace, and there he is."

I thought to myself that a worthwhile goal might be to begin each day with a readiness to abandon myself to God's grace, to be fertile ground where he would find me willing to move forward on his invitation to holiness.

I wondered how this might differ from my typical approach to my day.

On a typical Saturday, I will ask my husband what his plans are as we look at the day ahead.  We will coordinate mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, laundry, Church, dinner and so forth.

On the days I work, I have appointments and tasks that I need to accomplish throughout the day.

Needless to say, planning is a necessary part of our lives.

So how does one abandon themselves to God's grace when they have things that must get done, responsibilities that must be met?

I found great peace in approaching my day from the place of humility implied in the reflection.  I still make my plans, but if they change unexpectedly, I am much more accepting of the change.  If something gets thrown into my schedule that turns it completely upside down, no worries, God is present in the moment.

To face what is right in front of us and let our plans take a back seat to the Holy Spirit's movement, reveals true preparedness.  Our hearts should always be ready to respond to God's "invitation to holiness," no matter when it comes or what it looks like.

"grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift." Ephesians 4:7

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com
johnseven38@yahoo.com

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