God, what do you want me to do with my life?
“Is it I, Lord?” a line from a favorite hymn Here I am, Lord, is the discernment question I posed when seeking a vocation. I envied the burning bush that God sent Moses and the direct line to God’s voice Noah had. Why didn’t I get a clear sign from God?
God sends signs, but I need to be attentive to interpret them. How to answer, “God, what do you want me to do with my life” ?
I believe vocations are discovered by feeling as much as thinking. As an English teacher, I seek similes to clarify how to explain how I knew when I had found my vocation. The cliché of the key in the lock springs to mind. The pieces of my life fit together and an opening occurs. I also liken it to when I sing and the note I project is the exact one written by the composer and it resonates in my ears and heart.
My introduction to Mercy Association resonated in this heart-way when I heard from the charismatic director Sister Grace Mannion the origins and specifics of this vocation option birthed in 1968. As someone who was attracted to religious life but felt unworthy, I harmonized with this call to association. Through the structure of our covenant, I outline what I would do in prayer, ministry and community. Through the year-long orientation/discernment, Sister Grace assured me and the others considering becoming Mercy associates, it didn’t necessarily mean adding to what I was currently doing, but I would do it with the lens of Mercy.
By saying yes to becoming an associate, my teaching became consciously infused with the charism of Mercy. No, I didn’t become a soft-touch teacher who allowed students to do whatever they wanted, but I did listen to what they said they needed and sifted through responses that affirmed them and kept standards.
I was more deliberate about daily prayer and pursued spiritual direction which was life changing having a talented guide to interpret God’s signs with wisdom.
In the life-giving Mercy community I joined as an associate, we celebrate and minister together. We make collective and personal efforts tied to Mercy Critical concerns: racism, immigration, nonviolence, women, and the earth. I learn from emails from the Justice Committee with model letters to government officials that make me a more active citizen. We signed position statements to end the death penalty and conserve water. We hosted seminars on human trafficking and how to help and hold drives for clothing, baby items, and household items to help immigrants, pregnant women and victims of domestic violence respectively.
“God, what do you want me to do with my life”? to bring Mercy wherever I am. Knowing I had discovered which gift of the Holy Spirit I was graced with, how can I keep from singing?
-Submitted by Kathy Swift