Who are you yoked to?

“Go and find Jesus when your patience and strength give out and you feel alone and helpless. He is waiting for you. 
Say to him, ‘Jesus, you know exactly what is going on. You are all I have, and you know all. Come to my help.’ 
And then go and don’t worry about how you are going to manage. That you have told God about it is enough. He has a good memory.”
—Jeanne Jugan, “Sister Mary of the Cross,” (1792-1879)
 
Stories from the lives of saints and other ordinary people of faith always challenge me in my faith. Do you know Sister Mary of the Cross? She was known for her service to the elderly poorest of the poor in France. She grew up during the political and religious upheavals of the French Revolution. Four years after she was born, her father, a fisherman, was lost at sea. Her mother struggled to provide for the young Jeanne and her siblings, while also providing them secretly with religious instruction amid the anti-Catholic persecutions of the day. 
 
Jugan worked as a shepherdess while still very young and learned to knit and spin wool She could barely read and write. She took a job as a kitchen maid to a devout Viscountess, which led to her accompanying her to care for the sick and the poor. This began a life of service and ultimately her founding a religious order of women, the Little Sisters of the Poor. She continued this mission for four decades, particularly establishing homes for abandoned elderly women. 
 
Recently, Steve asked in his sermon, “Who are you yoked to?” and “What is your call?” Sister Mary of the Cross lived a life yoked to her God who continued to reveal how she could use her gifts to serve him and serve others. What a life! What a simple and exemplary prayer of deep faith and trust in a God who is listening. Be encouraged—this is the God we all love and serve.
 
Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation