Not too long before she died, my grandmother had a stay in the hospital. This was…uncomfortable for her. She didn’t like for people to take care of her and she certainly didn’t like lying around all day. She wanted to be helpful and useful and throw all her energy behind making things work behind the scenes. Laying there in the hospital bed, she just didn’t know what to do with herself. Then she got a visit from one of the hospital chaplains. Now, I wasn’t there, but I’m fairly certain that my grandmother wouldn’t have complained about any of the aches and pains or ailments that had landed her in the hospital. Instead, she just quietly told the chaplain that she didn’t know what to do with herself. The chaplain paused for a moment and considered these words. Then, she told my grandmother that she was in a hospital where hundreds of people were sick and hurting and scared. Patients and family members faced impossible decisions and losses. Doctors and nurses, techs and administrators ran themselves ragged trying to keep everything going (themselves included). So, the chaplain said, what was most needed in this time and this place was for someone to hold everyone in prayer – to remember them, to lift them up, to love and care for them. And I can just see my grandmother lighting up. This was something that she could do – important and holy. God put her there to share her faith and hope with a whole mess of people in a whole big mess. And she could do it from her hospital bed.
She was pretty weak and frail by that point, but God gave her a calling that she could fulfill. And God does the same for each one of us. The little things that we do day by day are part of our calling and they are holy. The simple act of walking away from the boats and nets of our distraction is part of following our calling even if we have no idea where we’re going and don’t think we’ve done anything that matters yet. Saying no to trying to do everything so that we can focus on doing a few things wholeheartedly – that is part of our calling. It is mystical and beautiful and possible because if you look closely, there are footprints to follow wherever we go.