There Are Always New Things to Do

“Dreadful will be the day when the world becomes contented, when one great universal satisfaction spreads itself over the world. Sad will be the day for every man when he becomes absolutely contented with the life that he is living, with the thoughts that he is thinking, with the deeds that he is doing, when there is not forever beating at the doors of his soul some great desire to do something larger which he knows that he was meant and made to do because he is a child of God.”

This was written by Phillips Brooks (1835 – 1893), an American clergyman and author who briefly served as Bishop of Massachusetts in the Episcopal Church during the early 1890s. In the Episcopal liturgical calendar he is remembered on January 23. He is known for being the lyricist of "O Little Town of Bethlehem".

During the recent meeting of the Diocese of Virginia representatives and clergy, this spoke to me as a retired person who could, all too easily, contentedly sink into a relaxing life of leisure, going to the gym, watching TV and having lunch with my friends. But that's not enough. There are still things that I want (and need) to do, whether they are a call from God or just for my own mental health. Is it the former or the latter? Or maybe are they the same? Regardless, there's still this inner need to continue to do things that take time and effort -- and sometimes are a stretch for my soul -- to help others in body or spirit.

Do you feel the same thing? Are you looking for fullfillment? Or have you already found it?