Friday, April 16, 2010

Worship and Calling

I recently heard a sermon on worship and how our calling is part of our worship. We are all created to glorify God, but we have also each been given specific gifts and when we use those to live out our purpose here on earth, we are also worshiping God. This means we have opportunity after opportunity every day to worship God through the use of the gifts we've been given.

When you do what you are created to do with the gifts God has given you and do it to the best of your ability, it is worship. Calling is therefore much more than just the job for which we get paid. It is how we live out out our lives. This got me thinking. If I expand calling to mean more than vocation, what might my calling be.

I think I have a calling as a parent. I believe this despite the fact that I cannot say that I have always enjoyed taking care of children. I was not the teen who loved babysitting. I made money during my high school years by working in a beauty shop. I still think I have a calling to be a parent (and definitely do not have a calling in the area of cosmetology). We have three biological children, we have invited teens into our home and acted as their foster parents, and we have been privileged to be able to adopt two special children. I love being a mom and I'm glad God has trusted me with so many of his children. I do take note, though, that in his infinite wisdom, God brought our foster and adopted children to us as older children and not babies.

I also think I have a calling as a teacher. I get a lot of joy from teaching. I have enjoyed teaching in many settings. I have taught high school science, I have taught special education, I have taught English as a second language, I have co-taught math, I have been involved with Head Start, and I have taught college. While calling is not necessary what you get paid to do, I have been fortunate to be paid to do something that I think is my calling and that I love.

Finally, I think I am called to be an advocate for children with special needs. I think I was able to do this in the system where I worked for over twenty years. I was one of many doing the advocating and we were able to develop very good programming to meet the needs of a wide range of students. I think that school still has a great special education program. I also think I am doing this every time I teach a class of students about working with children with special needs. I hope I have more opportunities to do this in the local schools here.

What is your calling? I'd love to read about it.
Do we outgrow or complete one calling and does God give us another one? I think so, do you?

1 comment:

  1. I like what you wrote Kath and you are right when you say that calling changes some as we age or just shifts to other areas. My calling was definitely teaching and interacting with young people, mostly teens. Subject area was a bonus. Now in a similar way while I volunteer I get the interaction without the business end of teaching. I think what God calls me to mostly is the serving end of it and helping those who need it whether they are the elderly, sick, or lonely. Since I do not have much family and certainly not in Michigan, outside of our four person unit, I'm called to be a friend and derive much pleasure and satisfaction from trying to be the best friend I can. I count you as one of those treasures. The calling of being "mom" doesn't end with age 18 as you well know, and being needed as mom to my 30+ age daughters is still a God given calling. Thanks for making me think about it and asking for my thoughts.

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