There is this desire in my heart to be a saint.  It’s been there for a long time.  I don’t need to be one who gets a feast day on the calendar, but God’s saint, none-the-less.  Last night I was saying goodnight to our Lord, and I included my repeated request for Him to turn me into a saint.  Then a smile hit my face and I chuckled as I silently said to Him:  “That’ll be like pulling a rabbit out of Your hat!”.

Oh, Lord.  A split second after that wry remark slipped into my prayers, I recalled the Gospel story about the priest Zechariah, who was St. John the Baptist’s dad. (Luke 1:5-20)  These scripture verses detail the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Zech that he and his barren wife Elizabeth would conceive a child in their advanced old age.  Upon hearing the good news, Zechariah voiced his doubt.  Then BOOM – he couldn’t speak.  The priest was reintroduced to God as God by the silencing of his tongue until his son was born, then once again he could proclaim God’s glory.  For nothing is impossible with God.

The first thing I did upon waking this morning was very loudly say “Good Morning, Lord”.  Just making sure.

Seriously, though, God expects me to be His saint.  He expects all of us to be faithful saints.  One thing I’ve learned is to trust that if God expects something of us, He will provide the grace to fulfill His expectations.  We just need to open our hearts to accept the grace and persevere in His timing.  It is He who put this burning desire in my heart to be holy.  It is through Him that this desire will be fulfilled.

Sometimes the progression to sainthood is just so darn slow because my footprints are riddled with steps in the wrong direction, lots of falls, scars and skid marks.  Despite frustration with my shortcomings, I comprehend that God is transfiguring me.  There are days when I immediately recognize His handiwork at play.  There are also times when it takes many moons before I put His pieces together.  All along the way, He has taught me abundantly, graced me non-stop and mercifully forgiven me as He faithfully draws me intimately closer to Himself through His Son.

Almost 30 years ago, I began taking God’s hand as a young adult.  If I drew a graph between those first baby steps versus my relationship with Him now, the chart would show a giant leap of faith.  Trusting that nothing is impossible with God, I so look forward to the next 30 years.