This reflection is hymn #2242, Walk With Me.
You are invited to first read the words of this hymn.
How many times have we been asked to do things we don’t really want to do, but feel we "ought?" Someone has suggested that we reach a state of mature integrity when we can say to ourselves, "No more ‘shoulds’."
But that’s only part of the story, because we know there are tasks that are truly ours. There is a distinction, and we probably don’t always make the right choice. But as the stories in this hymn tell us—stories of Moses, of Peter, of Mary—the closer we feel to God, the more likely we are to know what is right for us. So it was for Moses, who tried to dissuade God: "I am not a leader. I am not an eloquent man." So it was for Peter, who tried to divert Jesus from his holy calling and ended up a leader in Christ’s church. So it was with Mary, who wondered how she, who wasn’t even married, could be given the great honor of bearing God’s Son.
And so it is with you and me, if we discern that a role we would rather avoid is really God’s will.
And how did these historic figures—and how do we—summon the courage and strength to carry out a God-given mission? By staying close to God. "Walk with me," God urges, "I will walk with you." And we do, and God does, and as God’s people we are able in faith to support one another, and our hearts overflow with gratitude for the blessing we really weren’t sure we wanted at all.