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it lies beyond us.

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the church's mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

Amen. [Prayer of Oscar Romero]

Our life is about (at least I think so) living in the freedom that comes from the realization that we cannot, should not and do not have to do everything. We focus on the present and on our vocation in loving and knowing Jesus.

The kingdom that lies beyond us is beautiful, unfathomable and we get to be a small part of it. What an exquisite display of God's love--that we would get to play a part.

This prayer is a beautiful reminder of how we are to live our lives--full of meaning, freedom and faith in the one who guides it all.

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