CALLED BY NAME

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How we see others in our mind often determines how we treat them: 

Do I see others as competition? As enemies? As obstacles to my success?
Or do I see others as my equals? As daughters & sons of God?

We all have bad days... many times on the mission, we get a rough reply, a closed door or a gruff response. We don't need to take it personally but assume the best of that person & offer a prayer for them. 

One way that the human person can share in God's work, express his  or her creativity & talents as well as show his or her dignity, is through honest work. Take time to affirm & thank those who do work for you. 

"To be able to work, to have work and to be able to accomplish something for oneself & for others is a great source of happiness for many people. To be unemployed, not to be needed, takes the dignity away from a person. Work plays a major role in God's plan." 

Check our the DoCat #134-157 on the value of work.

Each of us has a story, a past that has made us into who we are today. Each person we encounter also has a story. As missionaries, our first job is to be willing to first listen, seeking to understand.  

Sure you know a bit of your family history... but, have you read your own "salvation history" recently? 

Take some time to read an Old Testament Bible story & see how God brings salvation through so many twists & turns in our human story. 

God is not afraid of a broken past or a wounded heart. Those are often His favorite places to work. As missionaries, we don't need to fear them either, in ourselves or in others. Rather, let us welcome God through prayer into those places to heal & restore & redeem.