Shepherd me, O God, Beyond my wants, Beyond my fears, From death into life.
What follows is the majority of the text that made up a Lenten Mission given in 2015 at St. John Chrysostom parish in Newmarket, and in 2018 at Saint Aidan parish in Toronto. The three presentations that were delivered have been compiled into one document. At the end of this document is a prayer summary that I referred to on the final evening.
God calls us to become all that God created us to be. God is calling you to become all that God created you to be. How will you respond?
Lent is a time set apart, a special time, a time for reflection. A time when we focus on our life in all of its dimensions, and actively seek growth in all of those dimensions. Lent is also a time to reach inwardly and discover all that God created us to be, and a time to reach outwardly to those around us, that our faith may be evidenced in good works.
God calls us to become all that God created us to be.
We need to discover what that is for us. Each of us is unique, and each of us is also a unique image and likeness of the transcendent God. So to discover all that God created us to be, we begin by looking inwardly. We begin this Lent by taking that journey inside, to reflect on the various dimensions of our life, to discover Gods call to us, as it lies at the bottom of the deep, still waters of our being.
Our goal after this mission is to begin to discover, and to become, all that God created us to be.
Our theme for this mission is taken from the song “Shepherd Me, O God” by Marty Haugen. The Music can be downloaded from iTunes or Google Play, or you can listen to the music on YouTube at
Take a moment now to listen to that hymn. The words are below ….
Shepherd me, O God, Beyond my wants, Beyond my fears, From death into life.
God is my shepherd so nothing I shall want – I rest in the meadows of faithfulness and love – I walk by the quiet waters of peace
Shepherd me, O God, Beyond my wants, Beyond my fears, From death into life.
Gently You raise me and heal my weary soul – You lead me by pathways of righteousness and truth – My spirit shall sing the music of Your Name.
Shepherd me, O God, Beyond my wants, Beyond my fears, From death into life.
Though I should wander the valley of death – I fear no evil for You are at my side – Your rod and Your staff my comfort and my hope.
Shepherd me, O God, Beyond my wants, Beyond my fears, From death into life.
You have set me a banquet of love in the face of hatred – Crowning me with love beyond my pow’r to hold.
Shepherd me, O God, Beyond my wants, Beyond my fears, From death into life.
Surely Your kindness and mercy – Follow me all the days of my life; – I will dwell in the house of my God forevermore.
Shepherd me, O God, Beyond my wants, Beyond my fears, From death into life.
The Chorus gives us a framework for this year’s Lenten mission – Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants ……. beyond my fears ……. from death into life.
Our mission is divided into three sections, reflecting on each of the themes presented in the chorus.
shepherd me O God, beyond my wants
Our first theme raises the question – what do we want ? In this consumer society, one where we are surrounded my advertising to stimulate our wants, then many things readily come to mind. It may be a nice house, a nice car or two nice cars, a flat-screen TV. At least 100 inches with an impressive surround sound system. It may be clothes, or food, or a thousand other ‘things’.
At a deeper level, it could be a good reputation, world peace, less stress, better health, or is it something to fill the void inside.
For many, it is “I just want to be happy!”
Which can be a tough one – since there are a number of myths about happiness that our secular world seems to perpetuate. The first myth is that worldly success will make you happy. The second myth is that physical pleasure will make you happy. The third myth is that fun equals happiness.
Getting all the stuff you want will not make you happy.
Heres the problem – we are all so busy wanting stuff that we have forgotten why we want whatever it is we want. We have disconnected our wants from the reason for wanting them.
That is why our WANTS will never make us happy – because you can never get enough of what you don’t really need
Invariably, beyond our wants lie our deepest needs. Needs are not wants. Needs are crucial to our well being. Unmet personal physical needs cause physical death. Unmet relational needs cause relationships to wither and die. We become serial lovers instead of soul mates. We keep repeating our relationship mistakes over and over again – at home, work, play, and church.
Unmet spiritual needs (such as silence and solitude) take us out of touch with the wonder and awe that surrounds us – we become indifferent to the uniqueness of each moment, and each person; which ultimately will affect our relationships and ourselves.
Don’t be persuaded by your wants. A life philosophy of getting what you want is selfish and doesn’t speak of caring for another. It isn’t based on giving and receiving. Satisfying a want at the expense of another is not healthy relationship. Needs are not wants. Needs are crucial to our well being.
So, what are these deepest needs – what are these deepest desires?
Let me propose a simple model.
Our deepest needs exist in three spheres, three domains … the personal, the relational, and the spiritual.
In the Personal domain we find things such as food, water, shelter, comfort. security, stability, freedom from fear, love, achievement, mastery, recognition, respect, discover and pursue inner talents, creativity, ‘self-actualisation’
In the Relational domain we find love, belonging, intimate friendships, family, spouse, recognition, respect for creation, creativity, caring for others, and self-transcendence.
And in the Spiritual domain we can identify finding identity and meaning beyond the self, finding ‘God’, intrinsic happiness, and also ‘self-transcendence’
It seems to me that our first step in discovering Gods intent in our lives to to look at our deepest needs .. so lets start with the Personal domain.
Personal Needs
While not everyone around us in Canada and especially in the world have their basic needs met, most of us here in Newmarket probably do. We have food, shelter. Most have a job that helps provide the money we require to meet the basic needs. But often, perhaps because of the relentless pressure to do more things less time (thank you, technology), we don’t spend time searching within to discover who we really are. Men are especially bad at this. We will spend hours and hours researching the best flat-screen TV, checking specs, prices, user reviews, yet will rarely spend as much time thinking about ourselves – our strengths, our weaknesses, our preferences, our joys, and especially our pains. Both men and women will use our various technological devices to get in touch with persons around us, but will rarely take time to get in touch with the person inside. What drives us? What are we really looking for?
There is no one simple roadmap to this journey. But the journey does have a common starting point – It is the question …….
“Beyond my wants is a deeper need driving my behaviours …. what is it?”
As we enter into Lent, I think that this is a good place to start. We could default to our usual “I will give up chocolates” lenten sacrifice, but in many ways just focusing on what to give up misses the mark. It doesn’t help us discover who we really are, and in doing so to become all that God created us to be.
So, there’s some homework for you. Take some time, perhaps right now as you are reading this, to answer that question …
“Beyond my wants is a deeper need driving my behaviours …. what is it?
Relationship Needs
The next step is to look at the various Relationships in our life. Many of our relationships exist at the surface – acquaintances, business contacts and neighbours on the street. However, there are deeper relationships that fill our need to love and be loved, to belong, to authentically share our intimate thoughts in friendship, and to be recognized, respected, esteemed.
Often these needs are realized in our relationship within our family, with our intimate friends, and especially with our spouse. It is in these deeper relationships that we catch glimpses of our true self – the one God created us to be. We begin to see that much of what marks the best of our relationships, the most real of our relationships, is our unconditional acceptance of the other, our unconditional love for the other.
This is no surprise is it? John told us as much in his first letter .. that God is Love, and where Love is, God is. So, when we examine the best of how we love others, in our care and concern for them, in our unconditional acceptance of them, we catch a glimpse of God, we ‘resonate’ with the spiritual within us. This is also true in our personal domain – for when we have a love of self, we also find that glimpse, that resonance.
Spiritual Needs
This leads us to the third domain of our needs – the Spiritual needs. It is in this domain of our lives that we will find the answers we seek in the other two domains – that is why my picture has the spiritual domain both surround and immerse itself in the other two domains. It is in this domain that we discover our true identity and meaning beyond the self. It is in this domain that we discover intrinsic happiness. It is in this domain that we discover both self-actualisation and self-transcendence.
It is in this domain that that we discover what God created us to be.
So, how do we enter and explore this all-encompassing domain? Unfortunately, there are a few obstacles that get in our way that still need to be overcome before our exploration continues. Hence, our next step is to take a look at the obstacles to exploring the spiritual domain ,and spend some time on the biggest of the obstacles – FEAR – and how God can Shepherd us beyond our fears.
But before we continue, take some time this to answer that question …
“Beyond my wants is a deeper need driving my behaviours …. what is it?
In answering that question, you will begin to take that journey within, to discover what lies at the bottom of the deep, still waters of your being.
shepherd me O God, beyond my fears
In our first section, we explored what it means to be shepherded “beyond our wants”, which moved us into some thoughts about the difference between our wants and our needs. Hopefully, we were able to connect with some of the themes based on our own personal experiences, for we have all had those times in our lives when we have felt empty inside and tried to fill that void with things that we wanted, but didn’t really need. And all of that led us to a deeper reflection on what lies behind all of the “wants” in our life – and that is our deepest needs ….
And we ended with a question for each person to ponder … what are those deepest needs that drive my wants, that drive my behaviours ?
Before we can explore the spiritual domain more deeply, we need to deal with the barriers that can prevent us from that exploration. The key barrier we face is our FEARS.
Psychologists tell us that there are five basic fears that underlay all other fears. These are death, injury, being out of control, abandonment or rejection and humiliation or shame.
Our fear of death is our fear of extinction, of annihilation, of ceasing to exist. “No longer being” arouses a primary existential anxiety in all normal humans
Our fear of injury is the fear of losing any part of our precious bodily structure; the thought of having our body’s boundaries invaded, or of losing the integrity of any organ, body part, or natural function.
Our fear of being out of control is our fear of the loss of autonomy—the fear of being immobilized, paralyzed, restricted, enveloped, overwhelmed, entrapped, imprisoned, smothered, or otherwise controlled by circumstances beyond our control.
Our fear of abandonment and rejection is our fear of separation—the fear of a loss of connectedness; of becoming a non-person—not wanted, not respected, or not valued by anyone else.
Our fear of humiliation and shame is our fear of the shattering or disintegration of our constructed sense of lovability, capability, and worthiness.
Do any of these sound familiar ? Or better still, do any of these FEEL familiar ?
We share them all, and we all share them. And as strange as it sounds, all of these fears are rooted in one simple fact.
We exist.
And rather than enter into our existence, fully, completely, in all of the dimensions of that existence – personal, relational, spiritual – we worry and become anxious over our existence. Will we be healthy? Will we be loved? Will we be respected? Will our life have meaning? We stop living in the moments of our existence, and rather shut ourselves off from life lived fully because of our fears.
Fear imprisons us, robs our peace. Fear keeps us from realizing our dreams.
Fear keeps us from taking part in dreaming God’s great dream for humanity
Did you know that the most common phrase in the bible is “Be not afraid”? It occurs about 1000 times. It is as if God is saying to us ‘If I have told you once, I have told you a thousand times …. Don’t be afraid !!!’ Throughout scripture we hear God, and Jesus saying to us – be at peace, be not afraid.
Don’t be troubled – don’t be afraid. I am Real. I am here. It’s OK. You are safe. No matter where you go, I am right there with you. No matter what you do, I am always there. I will never leave you. And I could never ever forget you – you mean the world to me. How proud I am of you. How I admire you as you face life’s struggles day by day. How I cry with you in sad moments and laugh with you in joyous moments.
You mean everything to me – I’d even die for you. In fact, I did.
Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid. Please – for me – don’t live your life in fear.
God’s message to us is pretty clear. Then, how can I move beyond my fears? How can I stop, or at least limit, how fear steals away from me the joy of my existence?
The first, and most important, step is to Name my Fears. “What?” You might be saying. “That’s it?! How is that going to help?”
You see, the main reason fear has power over us is because it resides in the primal levels of the brain and mind, in the deep, dark unconscious places that we don’t like to – or don’t know how to – access. From this hidden place beneath the surface of our conscious awareness, fear sends its tendrils up into the mind. These are often disguised as worry, anger, anxiety, regret, disappointment, hopelessness. But if we look closer at each of these emotional states, we find that they are based in a deeper fear.
In fact, all worries about the future are based in a deeper fear.
The way you and I experience this fear might be very different, but it’s basically the same thing. Maybe you’re afraid that your health will get worse. Maybe I’m afraid that I didn’t put enough away for retirement and I won’t be able to provide for my family. Either way, we are both projecting our deeper fears onto an imaginary future timeline.
Naming your fears automatically begins to reduce the grip they have on you.
Because naming your fears brings them out into the open.
Once you can see the fear for what it really is, you have choices you didn’t have a moment ago.
I’m not telling you that naming your fears will make them go away. But we can learn to use our fears to motivate us to move beyond them to live our life more fully – rather than allowing these fears to control us from their hiding place in our subconscious mind.
Let me share an example from my life with you.
As a teenager in the 1960’s, my life was pretty much about having long hair, riding my motorcycle, and rock music. And girls. I almost forgot that.
And as such, life for me was about working jobs to make some money so I could put gas in my motorbike and records on my turntable. And go on dates with girls – back in those days, the guys usually paid. Things have changed, I guess.
And so, I didn’t spend much time with family, and especially didn’t spend much time with my father.
Until, when I was 22, he got cancer. Dad died two months after his diagnosis at the age of 57.
Life continued, as it does.
I went back to school. Studied hard. Worked hard. I seized opportunities when they came along. While working, I studied at York University and at St. Francis Xavier University, spent four years in the Seminary in formation for the Diaconate, and by 1990 had 5 children, was ordained a Deacon, and became one of three owners of a very successful engineering consulting and energy services business. We grew the business in the 90’s, I served as hospital Chaplain as my ministry, and we sold the business in ’98 and I became a VP with the new owners – a 20B$ US utility.
Then in 2002, I had the opportunity to take some time to reflect on my life.
I wondered what it was that seemed to drive me to succeed. To always take on more challenges. To give 150%.
With a bit of help, I discovered what it was.
I wanted my Dad to be proud of me. For almost 30 years my fear was that Dad would be disappointed in me. That I would have somehow let him down. You see, the deeper need that drove my behaviours was the need for affirmation. And my greatest fear was rejection.
And it was only when I could name my fear that I could see it for what it was; it was only when I could name that fear that I could then be released from it’s control over me; it was only when I could name that fear that I could see that, yes, my Dad would have been proud of me, and I of him. It was only when I could name that fear that I could move beyond it. It took me almost 30 years. I guess I am a slow learner. I can’t begin to tell you how this experience transformed my life, in all of it’s domains – the personal, the relational, the spiritual. But my story is not unique, and I am sure that your story is every bit as powerful and insightful.
I asked you in the first section to spend some time thinking about the deeper need that drives your behaviours. Now, I am asking you to take some time to name your fears.
Because it is only in taking the time to journey within, to discover the needs and fears that lay hidden, that we can begin to discover who we really are, and through that, to discover all that God created us to be.
shepherd me O God, from death into life
Lets begin this final section with a prayer ……
Lord God – my soul is weary, but gently, lovingly, You raise me up and heal me. You guide me in my life, showing me the person you created me to be, and revealing to me the truth of my existence. May my spirit always sing the music of your Name. Shepherd me, O God, beyond my wants, beyond my fears, from death into life. Amen
In the first section, we looked at our wants, and the deeper needs that lay behind them in all the domains of our life – the personal, the relational, and the spiritual. In the second section, we explored how fear controls our life, and how God wants us to be free of those fears that cripple us, that blind us to God’s great dream for each of us.
In this section, we begin to explore the spiritual domain of our life, to catch glimpses of God, and glimpses of who God created us to be.
Apart from the fact that Psalm 23 is a Psalm that most of us know, and love, you may have wondered why the first two sections of this mission were spent, not exploring the meaning of the psalm, or talking about how it applies in the Spiritual dimension of our lives, but rather we spent the time exploring our deepest needs and greatest fears.
The answer? …. It is because our perspectives of God, and indeed our perspectives of life, can sometimes get in the way of being able to see God.
God challenges us to see God in a different way. A grander way. God challenges us to see the world in a different way, a grander way. And in doing so, God calls us into questioning the very way we see the world. The very way we see God.
Let’s start with our world view.
Our great danger is to fall into the trap of believing that the whole world is like the Town of Newmarket we live in. Of thinking that the whole world is like the street we live on. Or the parish we attend.
If the world’s population were proportionally reduced to one hundred people, there would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 9 people from Central and South America, 4 from North America, and 8 from Africa. 51 would be women, 49 would be men. 33 would be Christian, 21 Muslim, 14 Hindu and 16 would not believe in God. Only 17 would be Catholic. The average age of the group would be 28. 18 of the one hundred would be unable to read or write. 13 would speak Mandarin, 5 Spanish, 3 Arabic, 3 Hindi, and only 5 would speak English. One would be near death, one would be just born, and only one would have been to college.
One-third of the world is dying from lack of bread. One-third of the world is dying from lack of justice. And one-third of the world is dying from over-eating. How do you see the world?
Because the world is not the small slice you and I see every day. Where most people are fed and sheltered; where almost all are literate and almost all are educated.
Scientists tell us that even the slice of creation that we can see ….. the stars and planets, the trees and animals, indeed all matter and energy that we experience … is only 5% of the matter and energy that exists. The rest is invisible and unknown. Doesn’t even interact with our 5%.
And yet, with our limited insight and perspective, we try to define reality and then hold fast, sometimes stubbornly, to those definitions. And in the same way we try to define God, to put God put him into a box, to get a handle on God, so that we can be more comfortable with God.
We really do create God in our own image.
And so, we project onto God all that we understand about ourselves, our society, our world. And it is also true that we project onto God the aspects of ourselves that we have learned to become comfortable with. If we are a person who likes order and neatness in our lives, then we will tend to see God as a God who likes order, neatness, discipline. If we are a person who is more comfortable letting life unfold around us, then we will see God as a God who moves gently, secretly, in the movements of our everyday lives. If we are a person who enjoys nature, then it will be difficult for us to not see God when we encounter nature in its beauty.
And in some ways, that is not necessarily a bad thing.
As I mentioned in the first section, when we begin to see that much of what marks the best of our relationships, the most real of our relationships, is our unconditional acceptance of the other, our unconditional love for the other, then we resonate with our sense of who God is. When we examine the best of how we love others, in our care and concern for them, in our unconditional acceptance of them, we catch a glimpse of God, we ‘resonate’ with the spiritual within us. This is also true in our personal domain – for when we have a love of self, we also find that glimpse, that resonance.
But it is also true that the eyes through which we see God are also broken and wounded. The hurts and pains we have experienced in life, often at the hands of others, can blur our image of God, can distort that resonance. And that is why it is so important to have taken a brief journey within as we started this mission, so that we could become aware of our deepest unmet needs, and particularly our deepest fears. Because, when we take the time to sit with God, to listen to God, to resonate with God, our neediness and our fears will enter into that moment, that conversation. And only when we can recognize that fear, that neediness can we put it aside and allow God to speak to us, directly, unfiltered.
The most important job we can do in our lives is to take time to recognize God’s voice. It is a voice that is always talking to us, in the times and events of our lives, in the midst of the noise that is in our life. It is a voice that talks to us in all the domains of our life. It is a voice that is always calling to us.
I can hear it even now – the voice of God. Do you hear it? As you read the following, listen for God’s voice.
………..
Its very quiet, almost a whisper. Sometimes it seems like a small voice in your ear. Sometimes its just like a passing thought. Sometimes its more like a movement in your heart. Do you hear it?
For the Mom and Dad holding their new baby, or the Grandparents holding their new grandchild – Its more like a feeling than a sound. A warmth within, a fluttering of the heart. A sudden sense of awe at the tiny, fragile life in your hands. Do you hear it?
For the person working hard to put a roof over your head, and food on the table – do you hear it?It comes quietly at the end of a tiring day – a sense of purpose that rises within you, a knowing that you have been a good provider. Do you hear it?
As you sit at the bedside while a loved one passes away, and as you reflect on your life with this person whom you love, and who has loved you – and how you have made a difference in their life just as they have made a difference in yours – Do you hear it?
When you read about young soldiers killed in the cause of protecting the poor and disadvantaged,or of an innocent victim of gunfire in our streets, and your whole self rebels at a world so broken with violence – Do you hear it?
When you walk past a beggar in the street, and feel guilty for not sparing some change, Do you hear it?
When you walk past challenged youth on the streets, hanging around in gangs because it is the only experience of family that they have had – and you wonder why someone doesn’t do something about it – and a voice within you says – What about you? What will you do about it? Do you hear it?
When you are shopping at Upper Canada Mall, and in the midst of the fancy clothes and glittering jewelry the image of a starving child in Africa comes to mind …. Do you hear it?
………..
Did you hear it? Did you hear what I heard ? It’s God, talking to you.
Often it is drowned out by the noise in our lives – the things we do that occupy our minds. But it is always there. Quiet. Gentle. Insistent. And in those times when we still our minds and hearts, when we quiet out the noise in our life, it becomes more clearly heard.
To discover who God created us to be, and to live that life in our time on earth, is also known as the Call to Holiness. But too often, when we hear the phrase “Called to be Holy” it conjures up images in our mind. And it conjures up excuses as to why God could not possibly be calling me.
The call to Holiness is no more, and no less, than walking humbly with our God. The call to Holiness is no more, and no less, than taking time to communicate with God,
The call to Holiness is no more, and no less, than trusting that God will lead us by the hand to exactly who and what we need, to those people, things, and experiences God has designed and intended for us, and this alone will be the cause of our deepest fulfillment and happiness.
Let me say that again …
The call to Holiness is no more, and no less, than trusting that God will lead us by the hand to exactly who and what we need, to those people, things, and experiences God has designed and intended for us, and this alone will be the cause of our deepest fulfillment and happiness.
Many people falsely believe that if you want to be holy, you are not allowed to enjoy life. Thats just not true. Holiness doesn’t stop us from enjoying life – it brings us to life. It refines every human ability. Holiness doesn’t dampen our emotions; it elevates them. Those who respond to God’s call to holiness are the most joyful people in history. They have a richer, more abundant experience of life, and they love more deeply than most people can every imagine. They enjoy life, all of life
Now, there’s a voice inside you, isn’t there. I can hear it from here. You know what it is saying ? Its telling you that you aren’t that holy. That you aren’t worthy. You aren’t good enough. Not prayerful enough. That you are not perfect enough. That you are really, deep down, a sinful person, and it is folly to think that you are Holy.
Did you hear that voice? I thought so.
Now recognize where that voice is coming from. It is NOT the voice of God…. It is the voice born out of your unmet deepest-needs, your insecurities. It is the voice of your fears.
And the sole purpose of the last two sections was to help you recognize that voice and see it for what it is – for it is NOT the voice of God.
God is calling us to discover all that God created us to be. God does not want to control you, or stifle you, or manipulate you, or force you to do anything you don’t want to do.
God calls each of us to become truly ourselves— not the self we have imagined or fantasized about, not the self that our friends want us to be, not the self our ego would have us be, not the self that our inner voice of fear tells us we are, but the self God has ordained us to be from before we were in our mother’s womb.
Whether you are sixteen or sixty, the rest of your life is ahead of you. You cannot change one moment of your past, but you can change your whole future. And now is the time. Now is your time.
Let this Lent be the start of a new future for you. A future where your behaviours are not driven by your unmet needs. A future where your fears no longer control you. Let this Lent be the time when you discover God’s call to know God, and Love God.
And if you would allow me, I would like to suggest how you can do that ……..
This Lent, take 10 minutes, each day, every day, in silence and solitude.
Take a few minutes at the beginning of that silence and solitude to centre yourselves. To let the busyness of the day ebb away. And when you are ready, work through these 6 easy steps …
- Begin by thanking God in a personal dialogue for whatever you are most grateful for today.
- Then, revisit the times in the past twenty-four hours when you were the best image of who God created you to be. Next, revisit the times when you were not the best image of who God created you to be. Talk to God about these situations and what you learned from them.
- Next, Identify something you experienced today, and explore what God might be trying to say to you through that event (or person).
- Next, ask God to forgive you for any wrong you have committed (against yourself, another person, or God) and to fill you with a deep and abiding peace.
- Then, speak with God about how God is inviting you to change your life, so that you can experience the freedom to be the best image of who God created you to be
- Finally, Lift up to God anyone you feel called to pray for today, asking God to bless and guide them.
If you wish, you can finish by praying the Our Father, or any other prayer that touches your heart. Or, you can just sit in the silence.
Through the experience of these 10 minutes of Solitude and Silence, you will begin to hear more clearly the voice of God in your life. Through the experience of these 10 minutes of Solitude and Silence, you will discover what God created you to be. Through the experience of these 10 minutes of Solitude and Silence, you will discover what God is calling you to be.
It is a calling that God gave you from the moment you were conceived. A calling God has whispered in your minds, has written in your hearts. Sometimes God reminded you of that call directly. Sometimes God reminded you of that call through the words or actions of others. Sometimes God reminded you of that call as you stood in awe of the beauty of God’s creation. Sometimes God reminded you of that call in the still, sad moments in your life. But always remember, you have been called by God.
It’s a calling to care, a calling to be a peacemaker in a violent world, a calling to be a lover in a hateful world, a calling to be a generous distributor of the gifts God gave you when God created you, a calling to be a good steward of God’s creation, a calling to share your wealth with those less fortunate, your time with those who need it, your support with those who count on it.
It’s a calling God gave to you to be a light in the darkness of a fragile, broken world. It’s a calling to be God’s disciple, and through your love for all of God’s creation, and through your actions in your family, your workplace, your world, to bring about God’s reign on earth.
God is calling you from death into Life !
Shepherd me, O God, Beyond my wants, Beyond my fears, From death into life.