Waiting upon the Lord

St. Therese of Liseux once compared herself to a rubber ball, a toy of the Child Jesus.  She said that if it pleased Him to pick her up and play with her, then it also pleased her, but if it pleased Him to ignore her and allow her to remain hidden in the corner for long periods of time, that also pleased her.

Therese's image helps us with the concept of being "servants" of Christ.  It is hard to look around at all the good being done by others and to compare what we are doing, which often looks like nothing.  But waiting upon the Lord is also service, as long as we remain attentive and receptive.  The tools hanging in my garage are extremely important to my daily work in the garden, but I do not use every tool every day.  I choose the right one for the task of the day, and I do not need to have a chorus of "Choose me, choose me" greet me when I open the garage in the morning.  I choose the one I want and need to accomplish my plan for the day. 

On the other hand, when I need a particular tool, I do not want to see that the tool has become rusty and useless; it needs to remain useful and ready no matter how long it has been since I've last used it. 

I think this is what it means to be a "servant of the Lord"---to remain ready and open to His plans for the day:  Thy kingdom come; I'm waiting to be of use to the king at His command.