God's Gifts Are Irrevocable

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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Two weeks ago, I went to our former home parish for the last time. I attended Mass with our eldest, Jamal. We didn’t say goodbye to anyone afterward. (We have two parishes that we belonged to on that side of town; we know far less people at this parish than at the other. Plus, everyone was masked.)

It was the first church we walked into when we moved to Arizona. This parish has many, many strengths, especially the music! And while we didn't form a strong sense of community, there was a gift in being able to slip into a pew unnoticed from week to week. There was space to receive. As Jamal and I left, I felt deep gratitude for how the Lord filled us since we first arrived.

The word that stood out to me was from Romans 11:29, “The gifts and call of God are irrevocable.”

The two weeks since then have been a blur. We moved out of our rental house and into a home of our own (about an hour away)! We started our kids in virtual school, and we have prepared them to return to school in person next week. I also realized and admitted that my live concert events are not likely to return at all this year, and perhaps not until next fall.

All the while, the Lord has been painting a new picture for me of the gift of faith. I’ve been realizing, as I shared in my previous Word for the Week entry, that I must not place my worth in my faith. Although faith is the means that the Lord provides to trust in Him, it’s his love that defines my worthiness.

As we transition in many ways as a family, it seems the Lord is allowing me to absorb this new knowledge. Last week, humorously enough, I didn’t really have a Word for the Week. I “sort of” had home church (meaning, I reviewed the weekend readings from my house), but it wasn’t a transfigured moment of faith.

So the Word for the Week from two weeks ago has continued to ring in my heart. “The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.” The Word has assured me that the gift of faith is still in my soul, strong and available when I need it. In that knowledge, I feel compelled to rest in God’s love. To lay my head on my husband’s chest, to draw our children into an embrace, and to simply feel God’s love for us.

There will be other days to work hard in faith. There will be storms to weather and battles to fight. But this week, today, right now, my soul gets to rest. If He’s calling me to rest, then I won’t lose out on any of the gifts He’s given me. Not the gift of community, or faith, or music, or anything else.

It’s good.

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