Loretta Gjeltema Home

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? ”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah 6:8 (NLT)

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been looking for my mission in life, longing to make a difference. For years, I had this verse from Isaiah written on an index card and stuck on the mirror. I saw it every morning as I put on my makeup. My heart was saying, Lord, I’m yours. I’m ready, send me. Show me what to do for you.

I thought there was a special task out there. Something that would stand out. I was certain that God’s assignment did not look a thing like my daily life in the corporate world. I thought that God would pluck me out of the day to day life I was living and plop me right down into something that looked a bit more ‘churchy’. Yes, I see that grin. I’m shaking my head as I write this but I’m also trying to be completely honest.

Serve Where You Are

Try as I might, application after application, to leave where I was employed, it became clear that God wanted me exactly where I was. Eventually, I began to think about how God could use me in this corporate life. As I tried to see things from God’s perspective in my daily life I was often less than confident that I was seeing what I was supposed to be. I forgot some days, who I represented, and did not do well. I’m sure I had seasons of just being an embarrassment to the cause of Christ.

You May Not Be Noticed

In looking back on those years what I see now is that I was looking for the splash. I was thinking I could not serve God well if I was not a big deal, doing big things. Now I see that it’s the small every day things that really make the biggest difference. It’s a willing attitude that allows us to be God’s instrument each day.

When I study Isaiah, he was certainly God’s messenger, but he did not live a life that any of us would envy most days. His days were filled with speaking the message on ears that refused to hear. God asked him to do some awfully embarrassing things to get the message across, and Isaiah did them!

Adjust Your Attitude

Yeah, I’ve got a bit of work to do in the obedience department before I am willing to do some of the things Isaiah did. And the good news for me, God has not asked me to! He has asked me to do some things that were difficult for me, and he still does. And one of those things God asks is to serve in the daily grind, the mundane, without worrying about whether I’m going viral on social media or garnering likes, or even signing up dozens of new subscribers to my email list. God just asks that where ever I am, I listen for his voice and serve faithfully without regard for how others perceive my service. He asks that I please Him.

My attitude has slowly become; God, here I am. Send me where you choose. Help me let go of trying to direct this show. Mold my heart and my actions will follow.

Walk On!

If you are reading this and you feel that your life is a bit mundane, or too frantic to think about God, or you think maybe you’ve just tripped over the wire between serving God to embarrassing Him, know this: attitude is everything! Let go of all those preconceived notions and remember that God can use anyone. Let go of the chase and look for the place of resting in the daily walk forward no matter what that walk looks like. If you are one of God’s girls, He’s got this! Just keep your eyes on Him. Don’t worry about what’s around you. Just link arms with your Savior and keep walking. This is God’s work, not yours.