Holiness in our Midst: Session 126

SESSION CXXVI: ON ‘ASSIGNMENTS FROM GOD’

Story Circle Prompt: Do you ever feel you are “on assignment from God?” Can you define the entrustment? Or, when have you felt you were meant to be in a certain place or role?

These questions arise from the story of Tyre Nichols, the African American man who was beaten by Memphis police after a traffic stop on Jan. 7, 2023 and died in the hospital three days later. His mother said that the only way that she was able to carry on with her life was to believe that her son was “on assignment from God” in the tragic event. She hoped that “greater good” would come from communities coming together to work for peace in the aftermath of such violence. This mother’s assertion prompts a question worth pondering: Are each of us here “on assignment” from a Higher Power?

To answer for myself, I felt “on assignment” when I moved to the family farm to care for my grandmother during her last days.

I felt “on assignment” when I cared for persons with profound disabilities for many years in residential care settings.

I feel “on assignment” whenever I serve cups of cold water (and hot coffee) to residents at the assisted living center where I work today. 

And I feel “on assignment” whenever I write about seeing “God moments” in everyday life.

I can never know for sure if I have ever been “on Divine task,” but confirmation comes in small sweet ways. The subject was birthdays the other day when I was chatting with a convenience store clerk. We had been co-workers for 10 years in a group home setting. In an offhand way, she said, “You realize you were born to care for persons with disabilities and to write, don’t you?”

“Maybe so,” I said.

FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:

1. Read the above reflection. In your journal, answer the following: Do you feel you are “on assignment” from God? What are you doing when you are most in sync with the Universe?

FOR GROUP STUDY: 

1.   Read aloud Session CXXVI.

2.   Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Prompt.

Holiness in Our Midst: Sharing Our Stories to Encourage and Heal is a monthly on-line feature created by Janis Pyle to facilitate sharing of our personal experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and spiritual practices with one another, especially through stories. Barriers are broken down when we begin to see all persons, even those with whom we disagree ideologically, as sacred and constantly attended to by a loving Creator. Each column is accompanied by a “story circle” prompt and study guides for personal and group reflection. To share your stories, contact Hannah Button-Harrison at communications@nplains.org. Janis Pyle can be reached at janispyle@yahoo.com