Evangelization Where I Am - New Evangelizers

You know, evangelization would be a lot easier if these people around me would just leave me alone for a while and let me get my work done.

I mean, come ON. Why must that kid demand a snack just as I’m starting to get the dishes put away so that I can do a bit of writing? Who does that toddler think he is, getting into the flour and rearranging the cupboard with the sugar? How exactly am I supposed to get any teaching done in a class of 5th graders who are always asking me questions?

Fulton Sheen once said, “Show me your hands. Do they have scars from giving? Show me your feet. Are they wounded in service? Show me your heart. Have you left a place for divine love?”

God has put me here, now. It’s a place and a time. The many moving parts are part of his grand design: kids, work, spouse, family.

It’s messy. It’s busy. It’s full.

And man, it’s NOTHING like what I PLANNED.

How am I supposed to do all this great stuff when I’m busy with the day-to-day?

That’s just the thing, though, isn’t it? God put me here. God put me here, now.

The evangelization that’s most important for me is what’s right in front of me. I don’t need to travel to Ghana or even next door.

I have to do something far more challenging.

I have to evangelize the people in my home.

These are the people who know my foibles, who deal with my special features, who aren’t fooled by anything nice other people say about me.

They’re also the people who love me more than anyone else, despite all of this.

They’re also the people I love more than anyone else, so what better path to sanctification could there be for me?

It’s far harder than I would have thought. And the rewards, though eternal, aren’t always obvious right away.

Let’s pray for each other, shall we?

Sarah Reinhard

Sarah Reinhard continues to be shocked and delighted that her life as a grown-up involve horses, writing, and sparkly dress shoes. In her work in the New Evangelization as a Catholic wife, mom, writer, parish employee, and catechist, she’s learned a lot of lessons, had a lot of laughs, and consumed mass amounts of coffee. She’s online at SnoringScholar.com and CatholicMom.com, and is the author of a number of books.