Servant’s Heart: From the Desk of a Deacon
The four feet by four feet raised garden bed is ready. The wood has been treated with an environmentally friendly and chemical free sealant and the treated deck screws hold the boards in place. Perhaps a container for greens or herbs or perhaps a box of hope filled with good soil and edibles to be harvested and shared. This is a space for a specific purpose – a “container of hope” moving beyond its perceived limitations.
This container will be given to St. Andrew’s, Okanagan Mission from St. Mary’s, East Kelowna to be placed in the farm known as “The Gift” to grow food for those in need in our community.
We too have specific purposes in life that can flourish beyond what we might perceive as limitations. Not to say that limitations are not necessary, because they are, but to determine a purpose in our life — a calling if you will — one must enter into listening with patience about what God might be calling us to be and do. Not always an easy task in our bustling lives or when our minds are overflowing with countless thoughts.
Perhaps you have a small seed of thought about the call to the Diaconate. Like the small seed placed in the ground it may seem like a small thought, but it could be one of great significance. By sharing your thought with a trusted companion or friend, like the small
seed that is watered and fed and bursts forth from the ground, so might your call become more visible or apparent. Find those who can strengthen you in this discernment process.
Life can be confusing when we are not supported and helped to discover why we were brought into this world. But like plants, we need to take the time and to hear God’s whisper in our lives.
During the past two years we have been confined by the pandemic. Now we are beginning to slowly and cautiously emerge to resumed activities and perhaps take on new callings.
Goodness knows that the work of Diaconal ministry has been somewhat buried like the tiny seed and constrained by many fears and hesitancies. Like the seeds and plants that we so carefully sow and nourish, we need to be nurtured to feel the pull of God from darkness into His light. Deacons help others bring God’s love into places of despair and need and motivate others to action and prayer.
Perhaps you are a “container of hope” that will feel called to the servant-hood ministry of Deacon. The need is great — perhaps you are being summoned.
