Half Filled Buckets and Five Minutes of Prayer

When I was in elementary school, I started feeding calves on our family farm. Two or three nights a week, I would get off the bus, change into my barn clothes, and head out to the barn. Just like all farm work, feeding calves required strength, a strength that I didn’t necessarily have at such a young age. 

Luckily, I was met with grace. My uncle made slight adjustments in order to make the physical load easier. He filled the 5-gallon buckets of milk or corn halfway so I could lift them more easily. These accommodations did not come free, as they required me to make extra trips to and from the milk house or grain bin, but they did set me up for success. 

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."-Saint Francis of Assisi

Eventually, I built up the strength to carry a full pail of milk from the milk house to the bull calves in the west end of the barn or a full pail of corn to the farthest pen in the calf barn. That one pail soon became two, one in each hand. Not to brag, but there was even a point when I could carry four full pails of corn at once, two in each hand. Saint Francis of Assisi said, "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." My stamina didn’t come overnight; it slowly grew as I paid attention to my limitations and embraced them. 

Life pulled me away from the farm for a few years, and when I returned to feeding calves, this time pregnant with my first baby, I knew I couldn’t just pick up where I had left off. I wanted to protect both my body and my baby, so I started back with pails filled only halfway. It felt really silly to limit myself to carrying so little in comparison to what I once was able to lift, but I knew it was necessary. After all, I was still getting the job done! Little by little, I rebuilt my strength.

I recently heard a mom share a relatable story about prayer. She had a flourishing prayer life, filled with Eucharistic adoration, daily Mass, and frequent confession. She had hours of uninterrupted prayer and felt really close to the Lord. But after getting married and having children, she found it really hard to find the time to pray and was feeling discouraged.

She brought her discouragement to her parish priest, who encouraged her to start with 5 minutes of prayer a day. 5 minutes? That's it?! Further into her story, she shared that those 5 minutes turned into 6 minutes and then into 7 minutes. She built up her endurance for prayer one minute at a time. 

“Have patience and persevere in holy exercise of meditation; be content to begin with small steps till you have legs to run, better still wings to fly.”-St, Padre Pio

I found her testimony to be both relatable and encouraging. St. Padre Pio said, “Have patience and persevere in holy exercise of meditation; be content to begin with small steps till you have legs to run, better still wings to fly.” There is no need to dismiss the good for something greater when the good is still benefiting our soul. Daily Mass and Eucharistic adoration may not be possible in every season of life, but prayer is always accessible...even if its only for 5 minutes!

Until next time, your sister in Christ,

Abby