"St. Francis was the humblest of men and thought of himself as the lowest, most contemptible of sinners. In prayer he would implore, 'Lord, why have you laid this burden on me? Why have you made a simple, unlettered, wretched creature like me the head of this Order?' And the Lord would reply, 'I have placed a man like you over this Order to show that what I achieve in you is of my grace and not a human accomplishment.'" --From a sermon of St. Bonaventure, October 4, 1262Paul received the same answer in 2 Corinthinians 2:9. This verse always comes to mind when I begin to question whether I'm capable of doing something I feel compelled to do. It helps me to also check my motive for wanting to do it. It helps me to hold the end goal lightly and, instead, pay attention to the process. Harper Lee's 1960 book, "To Kill a Mockingbird." was the result of her editor telling her to take a different tack in her story. "Go Set a Watchman," the original story, was never published--until recently. It has not been as widely acclaimed as "To Kill a Mockingbird." But Lee had to write the first manuscript in order to write the second, better one. If she'd considered the first as her goal and given up when it was turned down, she never would have succeeded. If we leave the end goal to God and remain humble and open to the process, never quitting, we'll eventually succeed in what our true goal should be--glorifying God with our lives.
