This past week we celebrated All Saints Day and I’ve been reflecting on everyday saints and inspiring people in my life and why I (and usually others) find them inspiring. Some of the key themes I’ve found were:
They lived a life uniquely charitable in some way.
They were open to God’s will and followed it rather than their own.
They waited for God’s best, which was pure and beautiful.
They struggled with some adversity and it became part of their purpose.
They live a meaningful life.
They used their gifts and talents to the fullest.
They took a risk in faith.
They lived simply, prayerfully, and happily. They don’t have all the stuff of life.
Who do you find inspiring? Maybe some of these will pop up for you too. Ironically, all of these themes relate to what this ministry is all about: waiting for and fulfilling fruitfulness in God’s way and time. Consider…
Have you ever been to a wedding of two people who stayed pure, didn’t live together, and waited for God’s time to bring them together?
Have you ever watched someone endure a long adversity and many years later they find a sense of purpose from it?
Have you ever witnessed a family live simply, charitably, and prayerfully without all the latest and greatest – and they’re actually happier than your rich neighbors and family members?
Have you ever watched someone take a risk in faith and come out abundant on the other side?
Have you ever watched a couple go through infertility for many years only to have the miracle come later unexpectedly?
There was a certain pure joy in all of these, wasn’t there?
I had a friend get married in September and I will never forget the pure joy I saw in her and her spouse. They waited virginally for each other and they were blessed because of it. It was truly inspirational. Similarly, I know of a woman who got married later in life and experienced infertility. She opened her heart and adopted three children of different races and you can see the joy radiate from her now. Again, so inspirational!
There’s a reason why all of these things inspire us more than the everyday people in our midst doing things the opposite way. Innate in us is the capacity to be inspired by what is good, beautiful, pure, charitable, and faithful because God gave us this gift.
So when you’re waiting for your fruitfulness and growing impatient and despairing in the process, consider that by waiting in faith, you’re going to be an inspiration to many and the purest of joys awaits you.