Is My Life Enough?
By Sr. Mary Michael Huseman, OSF
(Written as she was entering religious life in 1993)
What special gift do I have
To repay the One I love?
The One Who gives me everything –
Even grace from above.
I asked Him to forgive me
Of my many, many sins.
He said, “I will – you asked me with love.”
I wanted to repay Him. “Where do I begin?
How do I repay Someone…
Who died for me,
and forgave my sins?
Is there a fee?
How do I repay Someone
Who gave His flesh and blood…
Who gives me joy and peace
And fills me with love!?
I asked, “How could I repay You?
You’ve been here from the start!
There’s nothing I have that you could want.”
He said: “I want your heart.”
“What?!” I immediately thought.
“That is a lot to ask!
He took my heart. He took my life.
Now He wants this task?!
He went on to explain,
“If you will abandon your will to Me,
Then you will be part of my Heavenly Plan
That I’ve formed for eternity.”
“I have given you many gifts
And much grace from above.
Will you let Me use you
To save the people I love?”
Once again, I gave into Him,
For He melts my heart, you see.
“True happiness comes,” He said,
“When you come and follow me.”
“There may be days of darkness.
There may be times when you are blue.
But do not worry. Do not be sad.
I am ALWAYS with you!”
Sr. Mary Michael Huseman, OSF, grew up as the youngest of nine children in Nazareth, Texas, a German Catholic farming town. While visiting the shrine of the Eucharistic Miracle in Lanciano, Italy, she writes: “I was overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit with instant clarity. All of my doubts about the faith disappeared. The knowledge and truth of the Love of God for each soul on earth was tangible. His keen interest in each and every person was amazingly beautiful. I wanted to put my face on the ground, for it hit my heart the first time that I was truly standing in front of God!”
She eventually discerned the call to religious life and visited a local Franciscan convent to see how the sisters lived their lives, not thinking that this was the right community for her. “If you want to make God laugh,” she said, “tell Him your plans.” She was was touched by the love the Sisters had for each other, their lifestyle, their traditionalism, their apostolate, and that they were Franciscan. Sister Mary Michael is now the vocation director for the School Sisters of Third Order of St. Francis in Panhandle, Texas (www.panhandlefranciscans.org). You can read her full vocation story in the November/December issue of Religious Life magazine.