The Queen of Apostles Parish in Pewaukee encouraged its parishioners to take up the challenge of stewardship and to recognize God in our everyday ordinary moments.

Every day Christ calls on us to respond in some way, a note in the church's Aug. 16 bulletin said. Through living in His presence and continuously giving ourselves freely, we can learn to better hear that call. 

Once we hear the call, it is our choice to respond with either a “yes” or a “no.” Since God has given us a free will, we may feel that we are not required to respond with a “yes.” The answer we choose is a reflection of our maturity of faith. 

As children, we loved to say “no.” It may have been one of our favorite words. If we continue to say “no” as adults, we may need to ask ourselves where we are in our walk with the Lord. If we are truly disciples of Jesus Christ and are serious about growing in our faith, we will say “yes.” We aren't required to answer in the affirmative, but we do because that's who we are now.

This is the 'Challenge of Stewardship' way of life. Are we mature enough in our faith to answer “yes” when God calls on us to respond, no matter how much that answer may cost us? Is the cost of that answer more important to us than our relationship with Jesus? 

Sometimes it will be easy to respond “yes” when He calls. The grace and love He gives to us is plenty to see us through whatever situation we may find ourselves. 

We are imperfect beings, however, and there may be times when we are more into ourselves than Him. It is at those times that we find ourselves at a true crossroads of a challenge. 

But the choice is always ours. God never calls on us for His own sake. He calls us because the world He created and the Church He instituted needs us. They wait just as He does for our response. Hopefully, our faith will be strong enough to choose “yes.”