A Vocation of Humility

“We face an impossible task, if it means that everything has to be finished every night. I do not think we can complete every task every day; God does not ask us to, because He does not ask us to do the impossible. That means that this vocation is an opportunity to embrace humility in knowing that we cannot do it all. So we gauge what is possible for that day and ask Him for the strength to do it and the wisdom to adjust our goals.” 

(Kimberly Hahn, Graced and Gifted)

This job is an opportunity for humility. There are days when I feel great about what I have accomplished. (I said my prayers, I exercised, the house is clean, dinner was well-planned and well-executed.) I feel like I did a pretty good job. But then I think, “I didn’t spend very much time with the kids.  I should have taken fifteen minutes and played a game with them.” Or, “I am pretty tired out by my busy day, so rather than spending some time with my husband, I will just read a book and go to bed early.” I can’t do it all. I can’t be the perfect wife, mother, housekeeper, teacher, person, and child of God. Every day, something, has to give. Something doesn’t get done. Someone doesn’t get enough of my time.  Should I rant about this or spend all of my time feeling guilty or ashamed of myself? Should I give up and not even try because it is impossible? By no means.  Recognizing and admitting ones limitations takes a great deal of strength.  We need to know when we need to ask for help, when to say “no” to a request, when to stop and say, “good enough.” 

 

Being a “task person”, it is often really hard for me to stop trying to check items off my “to do” list.  To focus on the people and the relationships rather than the “stuff” that has to get done. Sometimes that humility comes in allowing the laundry to not get folded in order to cuddle the child, relax with the stressed husband, or hold the crying baby. Perhaps it comes in asking myself why the house isn’t clean?  Is it because “life” interfered or because I was unorganized and lazy for the day? I need to accept my limitations but strive to overcome my weaknesses—such as my desire to sit and watch a TV show or read a book rather than clean the bathroom. I also need to be careful, when things do go well, not to pat myself on the back and think, “it is because I’m so amazing,” because I’m not. 

  We need to strive to do our best.  Strive to do what we do, well.  But we also need to recognize that on our own, we cannot do anything. Perhaps things will run smoothly for a day or two, or even a week, but eventually we will get burnt out. We will have the days where we don’t want to do anything, things will fall apart, and we will feel like complete failures.  The reason for this is that we are human, not machines.  It is important to recognize our limitations and failings and to ask God for the strength to continue our tasks, day by day.  Saint Augustine once said, “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” God grants us the strength to accomplish what we can, we just need to ask Him for it.  Ask Him for the wisdom, the peace, and the joy to go about our work. Recognizing that all that we do is in His hands, not our own.

 It is so easy to lie in bed at night, reflecting on the day, and feeling guilty for every mistake or poor choice. I can let those feelings eat away at me and disturb my peace of mind, or, I can offer them up to God and strive to be better the next day. Father Francis Ferdinand, author of In Conversation with God once wrote,  “Do your duty ‘now’, without looking back on ‘yesterday’, which has already passed, or worry over ‘tomorrow’, which may never come for you . . . what we must sanctify is the present day.” I cannot change yesterday, I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I can only do my best today; turning to God in all that I do, and asking Him for the strength to accomplish it. 

“In your hand [O Lord] are power and might; and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.” 1 Chronicles 29:12b