My daughter Ruth’s call comes at 01:30. Jessica and I divide the night into two watches. I take the first shift, and Jessica takes the second. Our division of labor worked really well in the beginning. But, then the child sleeps a little into the night. So, 01:30 is about the most inconvenient time possible. It’s right on the line of shift change.

Honestly, I could make a similar statement about God’s calls. Often, I feel His calls come when I perceive myself least able to answer them.  They come when I’m tired or hungry. Or, when I have 2,000 other things going on. That’s exactly like Ruth’s call as I’m brainstorming for my next story. 

Still, I know Jessica needs some sleep. So, I shutdown the computer before climbing the stairs. Ruth’s coughs echo down the hallway. They cause me to pause between the basement and the kitchen. Maybe, I should simply rock her in her room, but feeding time is also a real option. 

Here’s another similarity to my calls from God. For Ruth, I am called to care for her, but that care is a result, a destination. God always calls me to a destination too.  In general, His destination is my salvation. That destination is reached only at the end of my journey. Plus, I only get there by God’s grace. Really though, that’s great news, since I can always depend on His grace. Much more reliable than the actions of a seven-month-old. 

Given that unreliability, I decide to try the usual route and fix a bottle. I enter the hallway after putting the bottle on my tray beside the couch. But, Jessica and I nearly collide in the hallway.  She holds Ruth, so I lead us to the living room. Jessica begins feeding, while I get the cough medicine. 

God’s calls come again to my mind. To reach the destination of a cared for child, I must do some things. Also, my faithful journey is filled with a dozen daily steps to God’s destination. Each one of those steps is also a call from God. Every step is a choice to go with God or walk my own path. God creates my sanctification, the outcome of my steps toward His destination, through those routine choices. It’s strangely like all the steps that result in a cared for child at 01:30. 

After feeding Ruth, Jessica moves to put Ruth on the floor. However, I intervene here. I pick Ruth off the floor with instructions to Jessica for bedtime. The three of us go back down the hallway. Ruth and I go to her room while Jessica goes to ours. Still, I met Jessica again in the hallway a little while later, and we go to bed together. 

Relationship is the key to answering both Ruth’s call and God’s. I participate in each step of caring for Ruth with Jessica, so we reach the destination of a cared for child. Likewise, I must participate in each step with God to His destination. God’s grace will bring me to His destination, and He will be there for every step. The question remains: Will I go with God?  As you consider that for yourself, I see a story here. (Pitch story) May God use my story to impact your journey.

October’s Story: “But We Got What We Needed”