"Our Lord....."who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began..."
It's amazing to think that God had a "calling" on our life even before we were born....a HOLY calling. What do you think this means?
This reminds me of a "meditation" I once wrote 2 years ago on Eph. 4:1... a study I was doing with "chronically ill homeschool moms"....which I'll share here. :) --------------------------------------------------------
Ephesians 4:1-3
1 "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering , forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."
O.K. ladies, let's look at "key words" in these verses, "meditate" on them, and share our thoughts! 
1) Are you the Lord's prisoner? How is this made more real to you through your illness?
2) What is the "vocation" that each of us are called to ?
3) Let's take a look especially at the "key words" in verse 2.
4) They say chronic illness puts added stress on a marriage. So verse 3 really "speaks" to each of us that are ill, doesn't it? In what ways can we "endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace?"
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Paul, God's prisoner, in a literal prison, is exhorting us, God's prisoners in illness, to live and walk in a worthy manner (in a godly way) in the VOCATION that God has called us to. And what is that vocation and CALLING on our lives? Even before we were born there was a UNIQUE calling on our lives! For some of us the CALLING is "Chronically Ill Homeschooling Mom"! I wonder how many women have been chosen down through the ages to receive that title? Probably not many, really.
Homeschooling along with homemaking is a difficult task in and of itself...if you have lots of children all at different levels especially, and many of us have special challenges of "special needs" and /or difficult children as well. But to "top it all off", we all also have the HUMANLY impossible job of doing all of this in the midst of physical and emotional PAIN, and for some of us that pain is almost constant.
It was a special revelation to me one day to realize that I was CALLED to SUFFER that day...that God had from eternity past "ordained it" and that it was God's GIFT to me!
"For unto you it is GIVEN in the behalf of Christ, not ONLY to BELIEVE on him, but also to SUFFER for his sake."(Phil.1:29).
I had/have a CALLING to follow in Christ's STEPS of suffering just as Paul did, and it is God's GIFT to make me holy.
In Oct. 1999 I wrote, "This I know...if there were no suffering here below, heaven would not be as glorious at it shall be..and to the degree I suffer here, for me heaven shall be brighter! The more I suffer...the greater my sufferings...the more I LONG for heaven, MY HOME."
Through all of our suffering in the midst of homeschooling, we are called to WALK WORTHY....
Uh oh ....CONFESSION TIME!!!! I've BLOWN it! Too often my mouth has opened in whining....and that's not "walking worthy"......May God forgive me.
"Help me, Lord. I just can't do this," I scream. Then he gently replies, "I'm so glad you realize that! Be thee quiet and praise and worship me. Take my hand. My grace will see you through!"
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