I was watching an interview with Dolly Parton this morning and she said that for years she has prayed every morning “Lead Me. Guide Me. Show Me.” I got to thinking about that. How many of us start the day without a prayer asking for guidance for the day? I pray I am not one.
For years now, I have tried to follow Mary’s advice: “Do as He tells you to do.” I heard that message loud and clear one day while I was praying the rosary while I walked the cemetery. Maybe it slapped me in the face. My husband hates it when I say that I feel that something slapped me in the face. Sometimes that’s what it feels like. And that adage stays with me, especially when I am trying to make a decision about something. I feel that if something falls in my lap then it’s my responsibility to take care of it. But I also feel that if I have to work really hard to make something happen then that’s not meant to be. God is going to make it really hard for me to do something he doesn’t want me to do. If he wants me to do something then it’s going to be really easy.
When I’m feeling very generous I’ll ask “what can I do for you today?” I will say that to my husband or my children. I guess they have gotten the idea throughout the years because they don’t hesitate in telling me if they need me to do something for them that day. But I’ve never asked God that question? Why not? It gives me a lot of pleasure to do for those I love. Shoot, it gives me a lot of pleasure to do for those I don’t know. So, why don’t I ask God if there’s anything he wants me to do today? I think it’s because I’ve never thought about it. And why wouldn’t I want to spend my day doing exactly what God wanted me to do.
I don’t know what your prayer is each day but I do think that it’s very important to ask, to give and to be thankful. Maybe this gives us a place to start. And you never know, maybe your life will turn into what Dolly Parton has, at least spiritually.
