Leave it all

In the midst of stumbling through a million (well okay, maybe not that many) messages from students on Facebook, I was scrolling through our team's newsfeed and I was reminded that it was St. Catherine of Siena's feast day. I momentarily shrugged it off, and then was caught by surprise with the quote that accompanied the post. 

"He will provide the way and the means, such as you could never have imagined. Leave it all to Him, let go of yourself, lose yourself on the Cross, and you will find yourself entirely." 

In that moment, it was exactly what I needed to hear. In the moment of feeling overwhelmed by a million little messages with questions I needed to answer, an overflowing task list, and running on only a few hours of rest with a head cold coming on, I needed to be  reminded that it's not all about me. It's not about my team. It's not about the ministry we are doing. It is all about Jesus Christ. It is all about leaving it all. It is all about the Cross.

In our team's desperate attempt to love those we minister to, how easy it is to forget the inception of love shown to us upon the Cross. We think that we can go about loving others by our own strength, but we forget that we are fallible. Sure, Jesus loved others using His own strength, but we are not Jesus. We are not God. So what happens when we fail in loving? Or fail in our tasks? Or fall into sin? We become discouraged, distraught, and upset. 

That's where the wise words of St Catherine of Siena come in. In our failures, weaknesses, and sufferings, God will provide a way provided that we willingly leave it all to Him. We don't have to do anything of our own accord than look to the Cross, and lose ourselves there. Not only will we find ourselves there, but we will also be provided for by the One who has given it all already. 

Lose yourself entirely and you will be found. Leave it all to Him and He will provide and way.