In 1996 I began again to use a book a friend, David Rheinstein, gave us many years ago, A Guide To Prayer For Ministers And Other Servants, published by The Upper Room. This book takes a theme a week, giving a Psalm to read each day and other Scriptures to read throughout the week on the same topic. It also has selections from a variety of writers keyed to the same idea. (It was through this book a long time ago I first met Henri Nouwen and many others I never knew. And I'm so glad I did.) The selections end with a hymn. In mid-January the theme for one week was "Come Follow Me." I'm including a selection from Meditations of a Hermit by Charles de Foucauld. It set me thinking. Maybe it will set you thinking too.

"Our Lord asks great faith from us, and he is right. We owe him great faith. After Our Lord said `Come' to him, Peter had no more fear and walked upon the waters. So that when Jesus has quite certainly called us to certain circumstances in life, given us a certain vocation, we need fear nothing, but should attack the most insurmountable obstacles without hesitation. If Jesus has said `Come,' we have the grace to walk upon the waters. It may seem to us impossible, but Jesus overmasters the impossible. So we need three things: first, to call out to Our Lord very clearly, and then, when we have distinctly heard his `Come' (without this summons we have not the right to throw ourselves into the waters-it would be presumptuous, imprudent and rash, and a risk to the like of the soul; it would be sinful, even to mortal sin, for to risk the life of the soul is even graver than to risk the life of the body), once his `Come' is heard by the soul (till that moment our duty is simply to pray and wait), we must hesitate no more but throw ourselves into the waters like S. Peter and, confident in the call that God has given, walk over the waves, without the least hesitation, without the least doubt or fear, sure that is we go forward in faith and confidence the path that Jesus calls to us to follow will become easy to us by the virtue of his call `Come.' So let us walk with perfect faith in the way along which he calls us, for heaven and earth shall pass away but his words shall not pass"

Step into the waters and go with confidence when he calls--this is always a good lesson for me to remember. And certainly I can have confidence as I approach the responsibilities and circumstances I already own.

But the lesson that jumped out at me is this: it is "PRESUMPTUOUS, IMPRUDENT AND RASH" to jump into anything before I am sure He is calling me to do so. It's not a matter of what I want to do, or what the need is, or what others expect of me. I can be sure of the grace to walk in a particular path only if I know He has called me to follow Him there. Before that my DUTY is simply to pray and wait. Are you ever too quick to say "Yes"? I am. Do you ever subscribe to the Ready, Fire, Aim approach? I do. Do you ever find yourself too busy and going down for the count? Or causing those around you to go under? Do you ever find yourself taking up causes He never asked you to champion? Maybe some of you will decide with me to wait long enough to hear Him call before we jump in next time. I sure want to. "Lord, make us good listeners."

Carolyn Roper
February 1996