A Mission in Life

One of the lessons I took out of yesterday's Lenten Retreat is an awareness of a need for a spiritual mission in life. I have thought before about what my mission might be or the direction I should be taking in order to fulfil God's expectations for me. In searching for my mission, I have touched a lot of areas of our Church life. I teach Faith Formation to second graders in our parish. I bring the Eucharist to the hospital. I am working on several committees within the parish. Each of these bring a certain level of peace, but I don't know that any one of these is truly the mission I am being called to by God.

We questioned how we should find out what our mission from God would be. Father makes it sound so easy. He said we should pray about it, ask God what he wants us to do, and be open to following His direction. I know God answers prayers. I know God gives us direction as to where He wants us to go and how He wants us to behave. Right now, I find I am having difficulty trusting my understanding of the direction I think God wants me to go. I have prayed about each of the decisions I have made regarding my involvement with the Church. I don't feel I have gone against what God wants me to do, but I don't know I have followed the way I am being led.

Obviously, this can only mean I need to spend more time in prayer and meditation. One thought I keep coming back to, which most likely means it should be a starting point for my meditation, was the comment from one of my round table counterparts stating motherhood can be a mission. Nurturing a Catholic family is an important mission that is often neglected. Does this mean I have spent too much time focused away from our home? Am I neglecting my responsibility to my family? Am I ignoring my true mission from God?