As a 22-year-old bride with a theology degree, I was confident I knew what I was getting into on my wedding day. You can laugh; it’s funny, I know. This month, we’ll have 17 years under our belts. And when we look at the photos this year, we’ll have our annual chuckle at how little we knew and the huge education we were to get.

Had I known the implications of Andrew’s proposal— the tests we would endure, the heartache we would impose on each other, the crosses we would bear together, the huge differences between us that we couldn’t see in the blinding light of newlywed bliss, and the mix of heavenly joys and hope and growth—I would have stood frozen with hesitation. I wasn’t ready. Fortunately for my new husband and me, answering the Lord’s call is far more about trust than readiness.

Writing this month on the theme that “God doesn’t call the equipped; He equips the called,” I immediately paired the concept with marriage. The Father constantly invites us to Himself through love and service; His invitation has nothing to do with how capable or prepared we think we are, but with our willingness to accept the strength and ability He will certainly provide.

Throughout human history, God chose people who were totally unprepared for the mission ahead, and He continues to do so, today. When God told Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses immediately protested: “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent… but I am slow of speech and of tongue” (Ex. 4:10). Taking care to remind Moses exactly who He is and what He’s capable of, the Lord came back with, “Who has made man’s mouth? … Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak” (Ex. 4:11-12). Because Moses believed and acted on God’s commands and His promise to be present, the Israelites were freed and their descendants entered the Promised Land.

The Father’s modus operandi: call them, then prepare them.

Of course, we can’t utter any kind of fiat without trusting God, which doesn’t come easily. We like to look before we leap, even in leaps of faith. Trusting God requires surrendering our need for certainty; trading it for confidence that the Lord is Master of every circumstance.

He had us when Andrew and I sat in loaded silence in our room, bearing together what felt like a heap of crosses. “Are we moving?” one of us asked. “Yep,” said the other. Our penny pile was depleted, and I was pregnant with our fifth child. Amid other factors, we were blindsided by a new challenge. How are You going to handle this, Lord? We wondered. We were in over our heads; yet, by grace and tightly clasped hands, we braved the uncertainty and emerged both wiser and more confident that Jesus is master of all.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux wrote, “I will not become discouraged; I abandon myself into the arms of Jesus.” What’s so wonderful about this approach is that Saint Thérèse turned to the very One she wanted to trust in order to gain the ability to do so.

Saint Augustine said, “God does not choose a person who is worthy, but by choosing him, He makes him worthy.”

In confessing to Jesus every point of joy and every bit of anxiety we experience as spouses, we build our trust in His love and perfect will, so that, whether He asks us to hold our tongues or to carry on in courage, we’ll be able to accept the grace to do it. Being called by God doesn’t mean we already have everything we need. It means that when we say “yes,” He will shape us, strengthen us and send us.

Katie Sciba is a national speaker and Catholic Press Award-winning columnist. She and her husband Andrew were married in 2008, and are blessed with seven children.

This article appeared in the June 2025 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.