Not the Dramatic Life but the Quiet One

Every Lent I find myself drawn to the elusive ideal of living my faith dramatically. I want to be radically changing the world, helping the poor, evangelizing everyone who hasn't heard the good news of the Gospel!

But in my very ordinary life, I also live in an area where there is actually much more spiritual poverty than physical, a problem which often seems to have quite complicated solutions.

Bringing beauty, kindness, and love to those around me who hunger for these very real spiritual longings feels difficult to do in the face of material comfort, easy distraction, and a loneliness that can be masked with physical pleasures readily available. Most of the time all I can offer is my friendship, my example of being the Catholic they know who goes to Mass regularly, or just a smile and a hello.

It seems so easy to believe that a quiet life of faith will make no difference to the sea of indifference in which I live.

I think Christ's words today are especially powerful regarding the feeling of futility we can feel in the face of wanting to change the world around us.

"If you remain in my word you will truly be my disciples" (John 8:31).

Being a disciple of Jesus is how we change the world. Meaningful change in the hearts and minds of individuals, and in turn the world, only happens with the grace of Christ. But Jesus did not say that we have to be constantly doing dramatic things in order to be a disciple. Jesus said to be His disciple we need to remain in His word; that is a much quieter and more interior work that requires patience, perseverance, and time.

I may not be called to dramatic, headline-grabbing action to change the world today. But as a disciple of Christ I am called to impact the world; I bring Christ everywhere I go.

I'm capable of loving all those in my life with His heart.

Being a disciple is necessary and needed so much in every place in the world today. Our world longs for truth and freedom from sin. The only way many will ever know that Christ is the answer is by meeting one of His disciples.

I want to be radically changing the world. // @ChristyIsingerClick to tweet

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Christy Isinger is a wife and mom to five lovely, loud children and lives in northern Canada. When not homeschooling, she is a devoted reader of English literature from Jane Austen to Agatha Christie. She writes about the beauty of faith, life, and the home at her blog and is the co-host of the Fountains of Carrots Podcast. She is the author of our Blessed Conversations: The Ten Commandments study found here. You can find out more about her here.