“For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” // Mark 3:35
The kitchen clock ticked steadily while my son sat fidgeting over his math workbook. I looked at his assignment book, mentally calculating the time he needed to complete his homeschool work for the day. His older sisters worked studiously in the dining room with a number of assignments to complete. Anxiety whelmed up inside me as I considered if we should rush to make it to the nearby daily noon Mass that day.
What should we do, Lord? I cried out in my heart to Him as I wavered between my desire for the Sacrament and the reality of my children’s pace. I weighed the rest of the day as well: piano lessons, parent-teacher conferences, and writing deadlines all would claim our time.
“We are not going to go to Mass today,” I told my son. His little body visibly relaxed. The girls were also relieved, and the weight of indecision lifted off my heart. We finished our school morning in peace, ate lunch together, took a short walk, and sat down for a leisurely prayer time before our family altar and icon wall.
As I rested in the Lord, I saw that I had followed His will. While going to Mass would have been a very good thing for my family, staying home without being rushed was better for us that day. Other days, noon Mass fits seamlessly into our schedule, but this day, the sacrifice required of me was to be present to my children, to instruct them well, and to savor the sweet family time of homeschool life.
The readings for Mass today all talk about the importance of doing God’s will. Sometimes it is hard to find what He wants for us moment-to-moment, but He also offers us the grace to know what is best and helps us grow in the virtue of prudence. Stay close to Him in prayer, sister. Learn His ways. Let the peace in your heart guide you to what He desires for you.
And when you do this, He will call you His “sister.”
Listen to today's audio devotion.
Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Content and Theological Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer, editor, and speaker living with her philosopher husband and four kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of the Gospel Studies including Seek His Kingdom: A Meditation on Matthew; narrator for Found: Advent With the Good Shepherd and Rescued: Lent With the Lamb of God; a contributing author to our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up; and Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.
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