Ok so I'm a few days behind on my 31 days of Grace .... the last few days have been a bit crazy. Nevertheless here I am again ....
Have you ever considered your calling? Or even ever thought whether you are called to do something/anything with your life? What is it? .... What does it mean to be called?
Webster's 1828 says this:
Call: 1. To name; to denominate or give a name. 2. To convoke; to summon; to direct or order to meet; to assemble by order or public notice; 3. To request to meet or come.4. To invite.5. To invite or summon to come or be present; to invite, or collect.6. To give notice to come by authority; to command to come; as, call a servant.7. To proclaim; to name, or publish the name.8. To appoint or designate, as for an office, duty or employment.9. To invite; to warn; to exhort. 10. To invite or draw into union with Christ; to bring to know, believe and obey the gospel.11. To own and acknowledge. 12. To invoke or appeal to.13. To esteem or account. So many people these days seem to be wandering aimlessly about with no sense of purpose. The protestors on Wall Street right now are looking for a purpose, a call if you will .... something larger than themselves.... Yet I wonder if it is not often in the small things that our true calling is found, in the willingness to do them well even when there is no recognition, when it seems as though no one sees. A calling is more than a vocation or job .... some may have the gift of teaching and not be "called" to teach in school, it's not so much about what we DO but about who we ARE and more so who we ARE in Christ if we are believers..... Holley over at Heart to Heart with Holley has a great analogy ... ~Even after we’ve accepted God’s offer to be a princess, we may forget our calling from time to time. Imagine if Mia moved out of the palace and lived on the streets. Her beautiful gowns would become dirty, she would have little to eat, and few would guess her real identity. Yet the fact that she was royalty wouldn’t change. ~Did you catch that? A princess living in a homeless shelter is STILL a princess by birth..... Circumstances do not change who we are intrinsically. So often we live like it does though don't we?
When I was in college a passage of scripture was distinctly given to me, Isaiah 43: 1-21..... Verse one says:
Now this is what the LORD says—
the One who created you, Jacob,
and the One who formed you, Israel —
"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name; you are Mine...
what a comfort in times of trial and uncertainty to know that God knows my name. When we named our children we purposefully chose names that had meaning, didn't spell anything weird with their initials and sounded nice ..... {Sara Elizabeth: Princess Consecrated to God, Jessica Grace: Gods rich gift of grace, Ross Alexander: From the peninsula (it's Scottish and sounds like a strong man's name so there!) and;Defender/leader of men , Noah Cuyler: Rest/Comfort and Chapel/Shelter}, ... How much more beautiful must our names sound in the mouth of God? Of one who loves us so ....
But, how often do we balk or run from the things He is calling us to? to become? why do we fear that the grace which so envelopes us will run out? That it won't be enough if this calling is hard, or makes me give up parts of myself -- even if I get them back polished and beautiful later? Do we truly believe that God Himself calls us by name?
Sometimes it's hard to discern what we are called to in the midst of our busy lives ... in the hustle and bustle of dishes, laundry, car pools, yard work, deployments, dr's visits etc ... but what if....
what if ...these ARE our calling? To live where God has us RIGHT now by His Grace and trust that if He has called us to something different (often we think bigger, but what is bigger than losing our lives for others and the impact on eternity and future generations we can not yet see?) ? To begin to see each seemingly insignificant task as the grace of God for us, right here, right now. ...
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