My Favorite Scripture Verse

Melissa Marter here, Director of Youth Formation and Events at Our Lady of the Fields.

If you’ve booked a retreat with us recently, you’ve probably already talked to me on the phone, and if your child has attended one of our retreats during the school year, they might know me as the “horse lady.”

One of my favorite scripture verses came to me as the theme of my missionary year with Hard as Nails Ministries back in 2018. The scripture verse for my missionary team was Psalm 37:4

 “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will grant you the desires of your heart.”

This verse doesn’t mean that living for God is easy, and that if you serve him you’ll automatically get every material thing you want in life. Serving the Lord as a missionary, I experienced many added hardships that come from working in ministry. I was keenly aware of the sacrifices that I made daily to keep the mission moving forward. Serving others all day, everyday, I was tired, and in those moments it was easy to get self-focused. It’s too easy to get into a transactional mindset. If I’m working for God, shouldn’t I automatically be happy? That's what everyone really wants in their heart of hearts. Happiness. And while I had the right intentions, I had the wrong prepositions, which is actually pretty significant.

Msgr. James Shea said it best “We are not called to live FOR God, He has need of nothing. Rather, we are called to live FROM God, since it is in Christ alone we find our hope, our joy, and our sustenance.”

The core of life as a Hard as Nails Missionary is founded on a daily holy hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament- not because God needs my time, but because I NEED Him. He is Love Itself, He’s so much better at loving His kids than I am. I started looking at my daily holy hour not as a check-the-box chore, but as my delight, my quality time with the Lover of my Soul. Receiving His love for me in my holy hour became the source of my energy and strength that carried me through each day. The more time I spent with Him and knowing His heart, the more opportunity He had to change my heart to be like His. 

It wasn’t an overnight change. It was the strengthening of our relationship that brought peace and joy into my life, trusting that He wants the absolute best for me. So if things don’t go according to my plan, even if I think it’s a great plan, I know it’s for the best in the end.

 As life has continued past my missionary year, I have found that whenever I’m not satisfied with my life, it’s usually because I’m not prioritizing my quality time with God. Just as we desire to spend time with our loved ones, and we want to see them succeed in good things close to their hearts, so too does God desire to spend time with us and see us succeed in the things that matter to us, so long as they are good for us.

How is your quality time with the Lord? Do you believe that He wants to spend time with you and wants what is best for you?