It seems that every month, every day, every moment of Crossroads brings new challenges, new sacrifices. I went into the summer with the knowledge that I was sacrificing working for the summer. But there are so many little sacrifices that make up our day to day life out here on the road.
Hiking mountains, trekking through the heat, homesickness, real sickness, blisters, shin splints, little sleep, early mornings, late nights, little variety in food…they each hold a small suffering that He can use for souls. Lately, I’ve been noticing the monotony more. The same lengths of corn fields, the same rumble strips and white highway lines, the same fwap-fwap-fwap of my feet on the pavement. But offering this up to God is such a grace, since I would love to complain otherwise. 😀
Some days we offer up the pain of powering through to get many miles. Others, we offer up the frustration and disappointment of not getting very far. Some days, we offer up rising at ungodly hours to head to Mass, and over a two week stretch in the desert, we offered not having a daily Mass to attend.
For Central Walk, we have been without our RV for over a month. The engine needed to be replaced, and it’s still back in Utah while we’re in Illinois. Without the RV, we are essentially homeless. We don’t know where we will stay the night until that same evening – usually a motel.
Fast food is standard since we have no kitchen to cook, and between shifts, we hang out in libraries or bookstores for a temporary refuge from the heat (with books and wifi of course). We’re blessed to have food, showers, beds, and shelter. But being homeless, living out of very packed cars, and eating out so much is its own sacrifice.
And I think that that is the point. When God called us to give up our summers, it wasn’t a half-way calling. We have received so many blessings along the way, including exceptional weather. But it’s not meant to be sunshine and roses. It’s meant to hurt.
In some ways, it’s easier to make a large sacrifice than a simple one. We all want to offer everything to God, but everything is summed up in the small ways. “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” ~Blessed Mother Teresa
Our country has suffered the scourge of abortion for so long. And while many of our sufferings are very small in scope, we are blessed by them. If we are living in accord with God’s will, it’s not the size of the sacrifice that matters, but the gift our hearts make in offering them to God.
Flood The World 