# Finding God in the Midst of Holy Week
*2022-10-06*

> Bill reflects on Isaiah 49:4 and shares a personal story of ministry discouragement, reminding listeners that even unseen seeds can bear fruit in God’s timing.

## Opening Reflection

Good morning, I’m Bill Young. Today is Tuesday of Holy Week, and we’re praying from the little book *Seeking God, Finding God: Meditations, Activities, and Prayers for Lent* (2009). Our verse is Isaiah 49:4: “But I said, I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing.”

## When Ministry Feels Fruitless

The second Servant Song in Isaiah reminds us that God calls us from the womb to be His servant. Yet we all know the sting of feeling that our ministry is ineffective, that the seed we sow falls on rocky soil. In those moments we may wonder where God is and what reward there is for our effort.

## A Personal Story of Unexpected Fruit

I taught a challenging fifth‑grade religious class many years ago. At the end of that discouraging year I quit, feeling the time had been lost. Fifteen years later, after Mass, a beautiful young woman approached me. She carried a small mirror—a gift I had given each child in that class as a reminder that they are created special. She told me she had kept that mirror through college struggles and now shares the same lesson with other students, trusting another child needs to hear it. What seemed like wasted effort had produced fruit far beyond my sight.

## Today's Practice

The poet Mangal (Beik‑Hu) writes: “Throw yourself like seed as you walk in your own field.” Let us consider every action we take as a seed planted. Whether we ever see the harvest or not, we are called to sow generously.

## Prayer

Loving God, you have called me. Help me to be faithful and generous in my response.

*Even when we cannot see the results, God uses our seemingly wasted efforts to bring forth fruit in His perfect time.*