A Future Not Our Own

I don't know about you, but sometimes I find myself getting frustrated about my job.  I suppose though not in the way most people get frustrated with their jobs.  Some people might get upset with their boss or their coworkers.  Others might not like the type of work they do at all.  I am fortunate enough to love my boss, coworkers and the work I do.  What I find difficult about my job is the fact that there are moments when I wonder if I'm making any difference at all in the lives of the kids I meet.  Some kids I only see for a few hours and then they're gone; out of my life probably forever.  I used to worry about whether or not I miraculously transformed their lives.  Then one day I was talking to my mom about these things and she said, "You may never know how much you affected the lives of those kids."  While this was kind of disheartening it also made me realize that I might not see the fruits of my labor, I know deep down that I have made an impact on some kids somewhere this year.  The following is a prayer that was written by Archbishop Oscar Romero.  I hope you enjoy it and find some comfort in its words.

It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is 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 another 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 programme accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything. 

This is what we are about:
We plant 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 effects 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 God'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.