Mistakes happen all the time. It’s hard to forget though when you are someone like me who has expectations for everything to be perfect. Nowhere else embraces mistakes like the St. Francis Inn. You can’t predict what will happen each new day; medical emergencies, volunteers canceling, or fights occurring in the yard. When things like this happen, you have to adapt and adjust and be ok with not having a perfect outcome. At the Inn, You are reminded of how imperfect you are and how imperfect God’s children are. (Everyone is imperfect except for Sister Mary, we all know this). You might forget a step in the cleaning-up process, you might run late to events, forget to record the first ticket number for the meal or lose your patience with people some days. But that is how God intended us to be, imperfect. He did not create us to be perfect beings because then why would we need Him?

Something I need to remind myself during this year of service is not to beat myself up when I make mistakes. As Brother Fred once told me (who has plenty of life advice), “people who don’t make mistakes aren’t doing anything”. Meaning when you are taking action, you are going to make mistakes. Even doing the Lord’s work, you will make mistakes. So lean on each other, allow people to help you, accept that you are not perfect and do everything with the love in your heart. Because of that, my brothers and sisters are what truly matters in the end. True beauty shines from the imperfect humans that we are. Be patient and kind to yourself.

Peace and God Bless,
Elise, FVM Philadelphia

Colossians 3:23-24
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”