by Sr. Paula Gero
We all make choices. Sometimes it’s trial and error. (Oops—forehead slap—I could have had a V-8!) Sometimes we flip a coin. (And while the coin is in the air, we may suddenly know what we’re hoping!) We draw straws. We make “pro” and “con” lists and measure to see which one is longer. We seek advice. Sometimes we “just know.” For the small life-wrinkles, these will do. If one thing doesn’t work out, we just try something else.
Then there are the biggies. A job. A move. A degree. An engagement. A vocation. Life-changing decisions. That’s when we need discernment. That’s when we need to know that we’re not just talking to ourselves. That’s when we consciously ask God to join the conversation. In short, we pray.
And the prayer goes something like this: O God, you have brought me to this moment. Above all, I want to do your will. Open my mind and heart to the messages you send, to the clues that are already present in my life. Help me to know myself; my abilities, the ways I can serve, the things that make me happy. I believe that you want my happiness, my fulfillment, my completion. I put all my trust in you. May my decisions, whether great or small, draw me ever closer to you, and ever closer to the person you mean me to be. I ask your guidance. I surrender to your answer.
When the discernment is complete, there will be peace. And that is God.
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