Hearing Your Calling

I'm in the midst of researching the topic of finding one's calling...what is a calling, how do we identify our calling and what do we do once we have? This is very intriguing and motivating to me being that I am actively pursuing my own calling these days.

There is a brief article today on Yahoo focusing on a man who sold a very lucrative business earning $500k a year for a job as a teaching assistant earning $13.5K that allowed him to pursue his passion for literature and writing.

While most of us don't have such a valuable asset to sell, I believe we all have a passion that when followed, leverages our gifts and talents, that inspires us, and that benefits others. This is how most of the writers on the subject define a calling.

So, let's assume you've enjoyed the experience of being so caught up in an activity that you've lost track of time, or you've had a recurring dream or fantasy about what you would love to do - if only. You've had different people recognize certain skills and talents you possess over time, you have a particular "heart" for a need you see in others...these are some of the ways your calling is being revealed to you.

The critical problem for most of us is the - IF ONLY...If only I didn't have this mortgage, this amount of responsibility, this health problem, etc. If only I had that degree, more experience, was smarter. If only, If only, If only.

Some of these circumstances, fears, and self-doubts are realities...but as with the man in the article, many can be prepared for, reduced or eliminated. The rest? Well, that's where faith comes in. Do I trust in a plan greater than my own? In what or in whom do I expect my security?

As so many people can attest to today, whether you are an owner of a lucrative business, a tenured and loyal employee, or a job seeker...security is tentative at best.

One of my favorite passages of scripture focusing on faith versus worry says..."Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life..." It goes on to talk about from where all the necessities of life that we worry about ultimately originate and how we can trust that if we seek after the provider first...all of these things will be provided to us.

So, instead of seeking security for ourselves, can we instead seek meaning, purpose, and fulfillment? What would that look like in your life? Just for a moment let yourself envision it. What's holding you back from following your calling and how can you work to remove those obstacles or doubts?

Since we all only have so many hours left...why not make them great ones?