Dear Father, I once heard it said that when You desire something to be done on the earth, You seek a man. I also heard that Your first visit to a person is not necessarily to the one who eventually carries out the assignment. When the angel appeared to Mary to tell her about the birth of Jesus, she replied, “Be it unto me according to thy word.” I know that You weigh a person’s heart before entrusting them with a role, but what if, for instance, she had said no? This was not just an assignment; it was a disruption. Sometimes it is easier to teach obedience than to come to terms with all it entails. Greater assignments often bring greater disruptions, and submission may require more than the blessings we are taught obedience brings. It may require acknowledging that favor from heaven can appear as shame on earth-- like when a virgin is found with child. Mary had a choice, and she chose to yield. We, too, have choices. Yet the subtlety of divine assignments lies in their diversity of expression. Not all of us will be visited by angels, but none of us is without a divine calling. As a result, we must pay attention to how we respond to the assignment entrusted to us. Perhaps rejecting a calling involves more than just saying “no.” Could it be that the way we live becomes our response to that calling? What if our daily choices answer on our behalf? What if, through our daily dispositions, we say “no” with our actions while saying “yes” with our words? I may not have been the first to receive the assignment, but will I be the one who fulfills it? Translations; Slide 1: English Slide 2: French Slide 3: Bengali Slide 4: Hindu Slide 5: Urdu #LettertoGod #obedience #dailyliving #purpose #assignment