Dear Saints,

I was recently talking with someone who’s preparing to move across the country for a new job. He’s over the moon, he has his wife’s complete backing, his (soon-to-be-former) employer is in full support of this unique opportunity, and his new colleagues can’t wait for him to come on board. But there was one problem - his daughter. She didn’t want to leave her school. And, to be more specific, she didn’t want to leave pizza Fridays.

The truth is, there’s a lot this bright young girl loves about school. But “pizza Fridays” was pretty good shorthand to understand the impending sacrifice she was being asked to make. For three years, pizza in the lunchroom has meant routine and rhythm; tradition and togetherness; fun and friendship; lightheartedness and laughter. To her seven year old mind, pizza Friday represents everything good and lovely about school, right there in one little slice on a paper plate.

And yet after a few days to think about it, she dried her eyes and offered her full support for the move. Recognizing that it means something really important for her beloved father - though she exactly can’t grasp what - she’s putting her own fears aside and trusting in Dad to guide the family to where it has been called.

Life is like that sometimes. God calls us to leave the familiar for the unknown, and we feel the sacrifice in all the littlest ways. But we, too, can dry our eyes, put our fears aside, and trust in him. Without fail, he will guide us to where we’ve been called.

My friend’s story ended like this: “It’s just one of those times when you can tell that everything has been arranged by God. And guess what? We even found a school with pizza Fridays.”

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ