Opportunity

I was thinking about some of the choices that I have made in the past in situations where I felt God was asking me to do something for Him. Some of the things that He has asked me to do did not make any sense at the time. For example: all my life, I dreamed of becoming an architect. I went to school, received a degree, accepted a job with a great architectural firm and started a career in something that I thought I had a passion for. At about the same time, I became a follower of Christ and my wife and I were about to bring our second child into the world. It wasn't long after Eleana was born when Ann and I pondered the thought of me being the stay at home parent. We prayed about it together and both of us felt strongly that God was calling me to do this. It didn't really make sense to me, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to do something for God.
When God asks us to do something for Him, everything in us tries to understand why. Why me? What if I fail? What do I get out of it? All of these questions rise up and bet God asks; why not you? What if you don't fail? What won't you get out of it? Our plans always seem to contradict God's plans for us. His plans trump ours. When He is calling us to do something for Him, He is providing us with the opportunity to do something great for His Kingdom. When we pray, "Your will be done, Your kingdom come", that is exactly what we are getting, a chance to be part of something divine.
I believe that our prayers can be very selfish. When we pray and ask for things such as, patience, strength or courage, do you think God just gives us these abilities? Maybe He does, but I believe that He would rather give us the opportunities to be these things so that we can grow and mature in them as we live them out. Let me share this. This past summer, I was driving and I saw an older lady out in her yard doing what appeared to be some pretty labor intensive work, especially for someone of her age and her condition. It was very hot and humid, and she looked frustrated. As I passed her up, I began to pray that God would provide someone to help her. I immediately heard, "Why don't you help her Nick?" "But", "what if", and "I can't because", were all things that rattled around in my brain, but I knew that they were just excuses because I was afraid that I would get rejected or I would fail God. He was giving me the opportunity to do something awesome and meaningful. I prayed about it for a couple weeks and then I decided to take a baby step. I wrote that lady a letter, offering my help and service to her. She responded with a hand written letter saying that she really appreciated the offer, but she rather enjoys doing yard work because it is good exercise for her. Her name is Edna and she is 94 years old. She thanked for being a good Christian man and asked me to stay in touch. The funny thing is, I didn't mention anything about being Christian in my letter to her. Maybe God told her about me. All I know is that I am glad that I took the chance.
Maybe God has been calling you to do something. What do you feel like that calling is? Are you afraid to take the chance of a lifetime? With or without you, His Will be done and His Kingdom will come, so why not get on board and be a part of something divine.

Peace!