Recollection In Life's Station

Things are starting to get exciting around here, what with the hustle and bustle of getting ready for our summer trip and my sister's wedding.

There are a million things to remember, a million more to find, and another that I'm sure to forget. It is all so ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. People still need to be fed, clothed, bathed, prayed with, tucked in bed, and tended same as always. In another several days we'll be doing the self-same things but in another house, another state.

I keep thinking that there is something "else" I need to be doing, something more momentous. But my station in life is right where I am: I work to make a living, I lead my family spiritually, pray, study, I support my wife, help raise the kids, provide both love and discipline, and keep up the property. This and a thousand mundane things are what makes up the day to day; this is where I'm supposed to find my sanctity.

Scripture says that people will be buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage right up until the Judgment Day, so this is nothing very alarming.

There is a story about a Saint whose name I can't remember. It was the hour for recreation, and one monk asked the Saint what he would do if Jesus appeared to them at that moment. "I would continue playing my game.", was the answer. The Saint knew that he was doing precisely what was required of him at that time, having already prayed, studied, and worked. He was recollected.

So if we have done what was asked of us according to our station in life, we also have nothing to fear.