Proactive or Reactive?

Proactive or reactive? Most of my life has been lived reactively. I think as a mother of four, grandmother of four, only living child of an ageing mother, wife of a self-employed man, I have always been the one to fill in the gaps. The floater who can be asked at the last minute for a favour, a helping hand. And it is a privilege to be able to move in alongside those I love and be available to lend a helping hand. 

Can that be said to be a calling? The one who plugs the gaps? 

Maybe. 

When I look at Jesus, I see there a proactive man who knew when the time was right, and when it wasn’t. Who wouldn’t be pressured by family who thought he’d lost the plot, nor driven by friends whose brother was dying. Proactively directing his steps – or was he? He also said that he did only what he saw his father in heaven doing. Reactive.

Discerning what our Father in heaven is doing, and what Jesus is calling and equipping us to with his Holy Spirit: that’s the key to a fulfilled life. Learning to discern takes time, I’ve found. 

At my age, I’m still learning. Meanwhile, I hover over my laptop with one ear alert to the moving of our friends who are visiting, knowing that any moment they will be down and I will be making coffee, breakfast, chatting. Reactive or proactive, life is a blessing.