Answering the Call

As I was saying my prayers tonight I felt one of those rare times when you are completely and totally in tune with God. I felt absolutely certain that He was on the other end of the conversation and was listening loud and clear to the prayers I was sending up. The prayer for a loving, God-fearing husband who loves God so much that I will never doubt his love of me or our family. The prayer of my calling and what I feel my future will involve.

I think often about my future. I'm always planning ahead as far as classes, summers, medical school, there's always something; there is always a next step. There has never been much doubt as to what field I wanted to be in when I grow up. I've always been pulled to the medical field and I feel that God wants and needs me there. I have a special soft spot for kids and God-willing I will dedicate my life to helping sick children get better. That's not all I want though.

I want more.

I want to be a wife. I want to be a mother. I want to make an impact in my community. Society tells me I shouldn't be content with only being a mother or a wife, and that I should want more because I am a 21st century woman and by being content with those things is to undo what women have fought so hard for for the past 50 years. So what. God put woman on Earth to be man's companion. He made it so that a woman can carry a child. This is what we were made for first and foremost and that is what I want to be first and foremost. I want to be the best wife and mother I can be to my future family. Yes, I absolutely want to be a successful pediatrician and surgeon, and I hope that I can have a wonderful career in medicine and make a difference in the world through my work. But at the end of the day I will also be my husband's wife. I will carry his name as will our children, and they will be my greatest accomplishment. It doesn't matter to me what scientific feat I solve or improve if I haven't dedicated it to God because even that cannot compare to the greatness of raising a family in the church and the rewards I will get from teaching them about the Lord and watching them grow in their own faith. I want more than to just be successful in the workplace, I want everything I do to reflect my faith and I want my life's work to be dedicated to God in every way. 

This isn't about gender to me, this is about answering the call that God has instilled in my heart: the calling to be a mother and a wife before anything else, and being a doctor second. To answer the call. 

I can't see a baby without having my heart melt and wonder about my own kids someday. Most nights I pray for my future husband because even if I haven't met him yet I know he's somewhere out there, and I pray for him. God calls us each to different paths; some of us are called to service in the priesthood or monastery, some are called to marriage, and some are called to be single, but to still live in service to God. No matter the call that you feel, it's up to you to follow through with it.

So go forth and prepare your hearts for Lent, and eat your hearts out on Fat Tuesday.

Peace be with you,

B