Tag: Father

Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Published on by KateLeave a comment

There’s a lot happening around here at the moment. If you watched this week’s YouTube video, you already know we are safely in Alabama. Thank you to all of you who prayed for our family on our journey. We appreciated it so much, especially when a certain Mississippi state trooper pulled us over because the registration on our cargo trailer may (or may not, you’ll have to take it up with my husband who insists because it was purchased in California there’s some kind of special rule out there) have been expired. When I explained we were military in the middle of moving cross country he let us go without any problems, but boy was my heart pounding for quite a few miles after.

I also can’t talk about this move without sharing a bit about how incredible my dad is. He had to navigate peers also being on vacation at the same time as our planned move and got everything all lined up. Then, about a week before we planned to leave we found out that if we didn’t want all of our household goods to end up in storage we would need to move up our timeline by 4 days. We would have already been in Alabama by the time his flight got into Wichita. We called immediately and told him we were so sorry for all the work he had to do to make the first plan work, how sorry we were to be changing things last minute, etc. He didn’t even flinch. He (and my mom, she’s a flight ticket wiz) got the tickets changed and he workout whatever needed to be done at work so he could drive with us. He drove my car, with 4 of the 6 kids, hauling that semi-registered cargo trailer, from Kansas to Alabama without complaining once. He then stayed for 2 days and helped Ben get the trailer unloaded, reloaded with storage stuff, and stored. And helped get the camper pushed into the garage after helping reorganize the garage (have I mentioned tomorrow it’s going to be 109 Fahrenheit tomorrow). AND still found time to play in the community pool, spend time on the floor building and rebuilding towers for Nathan to crash, hear all about the kids’ Zelda and Super Mario games, and I could go on.

I’m exhausted just writing about all the things my dad, Papa to the kids, got done while he was with us. We would be no where, absolutely no where, near where we are right now if he hadn’t come. I will always talk about this crazy move with our kids, because I want to share this story with them. I want them to remember the fun memories of being thrown across the pool and playing Minecraft Uno with all the rules (my dad likes to read all the rules before starting a game). But more importantly, I want them to remember what an incredibly selfless choice this was.

My dad did not have to come. We made it very clear that we did not expect him to rush to change all kinds of things to make this work. He did anyway. He could have griped about only going 60 miles an hour the whole first day (Ben tries to manage the number of times we have to stop for gas) (we got to go 65 on day two, hooray!). He didn’t. He could have said, “No, I think I’ll take the room to myself if that’s ok, it’s been a long day in the car with the kids and tomorrow will be just as long,” when we stopped overnight. He had 3 kids in his room with him, including the 4 year old who kicks in his sleep but adores his Papa. Every time I turned around, there he was, doing something sweet or kind or helpful. He was amazing.

While I know this story isn’t exactly what our Gospel is about, in a way it is. What I saw in my dad was someone who was putting Jesus first. He continually showed our whole family what it means to show up and be present in this moment. What crosses we asked him to carry, he carried. He so perfectly modeled that song from Mass, “Here I am, Lord, here I am. I come to do Your Will.” This is what I hope our family remembers from this past week.

For something a little more on topic for the Gospel reading, be sure to check out the YouTube video below.

Daily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com

Chosen, not Qualified

Published on by Kate11 Comments

Our base parish has been so thankful these past two weeks. Last April, our active duty priest assigned to our base retired and we have been without an assigned priest since then. A very kind priest from town has been coming to help fill in, but has to basically fly in, say Mass and then zoom straight back to his parish to make the times work. We were grateful for the gift of the Sacrament, but there wasn’t much time for pastoral care. After much prayer, a civilian priest volunteered to come fill the void and his homilies the past two weeks have been very, very good.

His main point this week was so good, I had to take a minute and share it with you all. He asked us a question at the start: “In all our readings today, there was a man before God. Was he chosen, though unqualified for the work? Or was he qualified, and then chosen?” The answer, of course, is that Isaiah, Paul and Peter were all chosen by God for extraordinary work, but at the time of their calling they were unqualified, unworthy or unclean in some way. They did not have perfect track records (remember Paul’s persecution of the early Christians). They were not holy men (Isaiah said he was a man of unclean lips living among people with unclean lips). They were not righteous men, living ascetic lives in the desert (Peter calls himself a sinful man and works as a lowly fisherman).

What makes these men great is their engagement in their call. Each one was called, and though knowingly unworthy, each responded in some way. Their response is what propels them along the path of grace which God had laid out for them. It changed them, moulded them into individuals uniquely qualified for the role God had called them too.

Isaiah’s lips were purified with the burning coal so that he could be a prophet to a people desperate for God’s presence. Paul credits his complete 180 to the grace working in and through him. Peter hear’s Jesus command to lower the nets and even in his doubt he is obedient. Through that obedience, a catch so large nearly capsized his boat.

What does it mean for you and I? It means that we all have been chosen for some work in this world. It also means that we probably aren’t qualified fully for it. None of us are perfect, we all have places of brokenness, fear, doubt, anger, etc. But those are exactly the places that God wants to work on, to improve, to qualify, so that we can fulfill His mission for us. We are each a unique chosen son and daughter of the Almighty, and nothing can take that away.

I, personally, see this especially in parenthood. These children that have been placed in my lap were chosen for my husband and I to raise. More often than not we feel hugely unqualified for this position. Books upon books upon blogs upon podcasts will try to tell you that you are qualified, that you’ve read all the answers, and it’s just not true. Because your children were not handed to you and your spouse unattached. They belong to God, and He is raising them right along with you. He chose you for them, unqualified though you are. When we lean into the grace He provides we discover the way forward which we couldn’t have found on our own.

So on the days you are feeling less than qualified for the work God has placed at your feet, take comfort and inspiration from Isaiah, Paul and Peter. They may not have been qualified, but they were willing. Are you willing to take the next step into your calling as a chosen son or daughter of the Father?