Our Smaller Life Without Him

“Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” // Matthew 25:13

It was summer of 2009, those early months of marriage when we were still figuring out how to live together, who would do what for dinner and laundry, my husband studying for the Bar Exam and me finishing up my federal clerkship. That fall, we moved back to Minnesota after he took his exam and my job ended, and then this little precious life joined our family.

I felt awful day and night, couldn’t find a full-time job, and struggled to reconnect with old friends and find new ones. I could barely stay awake, prayer life was non-existent beyond begging for reprieve of my symptoms, and yet like the wise virgins, we were listening to God and being open to His will, and He had a baby in mind for us.

What if we’d put it off or not been open? This precise soul was created for this precise little person at the precise time of his conception. I didn’t know the day or the hour when we would have a baby join our family. And I sometimes think about what our lives would look like if we had been able to plan every detail. This is probably true for you, too.

It would look narrower.
It would look less full.
It would look small.

Your fiat, your acceptance of God’s will could look like an unexpected job that delights you, one you never thought would be a fit. It could be carrying the cross of physical suffering, one that teaches you empathy and compassion. Your surrender and watchfulness to what God is asking of you will yield closeness and intimacy with Him so you will not hear, “I do not know you” (Matthew 19:13).

What would staying more awake to His will look like for you right now?

Be open to His will. // Nell O'Leary Click to tweet

listen to today’s devotion