As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
– Matthew 9:9
[December 31, 2015 – Around 10AM]
Plans were set, goals in mind already brewing and processing. No changes to be made. Simply, another year at hand. Where would Hamilton-St. Catherine’s go next year? What is the state of music ministry in the area? My last term of university is about to begin, what next?
I thought I had it all figured out. The ship was ready to sail – actually it was ready to coast. On this day everything was set for cruising, like a plane about to reach cruising altitude. All I had to do was prepare for the New Years Eve party later that night.
[December 31, 2015 – 6PM]
I saw that I had missed a call from the GTA Area CC and thought it was something regarding the upcoming Regional Youth Conference, possibly to serve as a committee/sub-committee head. As I slid my finger left-to-right on their contact, to initiate the phone call, my mind was blank. It was already cruising. But then the Lord decided to shake things up. By the end of the call, what was once calm and cruising suddenly became a frenzy of what-ifs and constant measuring of pros and cons. I was asked to serve as the GTA West Sector head.
As the countdown continued, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5….., externally I was present but internally I had waged a war in my heart and mind.
[November 29, 2016]
As cliché as it sounds, who would’ve thought that in the span of 8 hours, or one day, that my life changed. Like Matthew, I was in my booth of comfort. I could just stay there, do my job, meet the bare minimum and continue moving forward. But in the same way, there was a plan set for Matthew, and he was called out from the comforts of his booth. And like for me, I was brought out of the comforts of my mind. God called me to step out in order to follow Him.
This reading has been speaking to me for a while now, because of how life-changing two simple words could be. Or in my case, how a calling could be so simple and not complex. All that is ever asked of us is to follow Him. No need to overcomplicate and overthink. No need to weigh one option versus another. Once Matthew was called, he simply got up and followed.
And so, each and every day of this year, the Lord has definitely called me to follow Him through many different challenges. I never knew where He would lead me, but each and every time I entrusted things to the Lord, He blessed me abundantly.
I can desire a lot of things, I can plan for things, adjusting them according to the present circumstances. However, when the Lord calls, I know that the only thing I should do, the only thing that any one of us should do, is to leave behind everything, answering that call and follow Him.
AMDG.