A Call Out of Comfort

By Gina Sternfels

Comfort.

Don’t we want that? The definition of comfort is a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. That sounds great, but God calls us for more.

In a Bible study this week, a friend commented on how uncomfortable the Holy Family had to be following God’s plan. I had not thought of it that way. It was not easy for them, but they said, “yes,” walking in faith and trust obeying our father.

By going to the Holy Spirit, we can be given what we need when we are called out of that place of comfort.

My family has had our share of life celebrations and struggles. I have been married to my husband for 20 years, and we have three boys. Our middle son was diagnosed with severe autism before he was 3 years old. Life has not been comfortable, but it has been a God-given path with purpose where we get to say our “yes.” God is not calling me to be comfortable, he is calling me to grow.

I am blessed to be part of the New Orleans Archdiocese Commission on Persons with Disabilities. On my search for resources for the Commission, I reached out to a friend who writes for this blog and asked her which one of your bloggers writes about disabilities in their families. Her response was, “I don’t think we have one, are you interested?”

I was not expecting that at all! I hadn’t realized it before, but God had been preparing me for this. Over the past 14 years, I’ve amassed a lot of information and have become a resource in my community.

I decided to answer God’s call and get out of that comfort zone. God’s giving me an opportunity to share that with you.

In my posts for this blog, I plan to share experiences of our family, what I am learning in my faith and, hopefully, help some of you along the way.