Reminded

There are two kinds of people in the world...those who give and those who take.
Or those who give darkness and those who light a candle.
Or those who need healing and those who lead them to the way of healing.
Or those who reject the will of God and those who embrace His Word.

You see what I mean?  My social studies teacher (they called it Civics back then) said the world is full of "haves" and "have nots". Which kind are you?

I believe most of us are "haves", but we are unable to accept that and dwell instead on our troubles and our wants, becoming willing "have nots".

I believe that everyone has a calling--one has to listen carefully to know what the calling is. In real life I see those who are called and those who are pew-warmers. It's so sad. Many are called but few are chosen?  Many are called, but few hear.

Since I accepted my own calling some months ago, I find that I am being called again and again.  Sometimes I move too quickly, like today.  The object of my concern wanted me to listen. I did. For some reason, she is unwilling to share her plight with the people of the church--those who would be so willing to pray with her and for her.  I find it hard to understand. . . why reject the helping hand of God through people who are filled with the Holy Spirit?  She is too private to share, and I should have realized that, but a burden of a hundred pounds becomes only ten--or five--or nothing-- when others help to lift it.

The sermon caught me off guard.  I had finished writing and was set to edit and post a column about how dissatisfied  I am with my work of late and how I was thinking about going back into sales. I've been on a roller-coaster of highs and lows, never leveling off for long enough to see where I am. As I usually do, I asked at the start of the service for God to release my mind, that I could concentrate on His Word instead of my daily tribulations. When the woman said to me, "I want to be at peace", I knew exactly what she was talking about. Being at peace trumps my niggling dissatisfaction. And then I heard the words of the sermon. I knew that it was time to accept another calling.  Being a listening ear? Yes. Turning water to wine? No.

I know that my calling is to write.  I hope that my words will be shared.  I have recently been called to caregiving, and my newest client shows me exactly what that means.  I believe I have been called to chair the Stewardship Committee because of the blinding flash that accompanied my revelations about stewardship...the words, unrehearsed and unwritten,  came as I stood before the congregational meeting.  As they came from my mouth, I knew that they were coming from my heart.

What about you? Are you called to bring joy to someone's life with a plate of muffins? To crochet a prayer shawl to bring someone peace? To serve as a lay pastor to help share the Word?  Are you supposed to use your skills as a mechanic to help keep someone safe? Or as a teacher to give knowledge? Or to surprise a friend with a care package you know she needs but for which she would never ask?

Your calling may not be inside the Church, but just the same it is something that will serve God as well as your community. OK, so you are not a preacher.  Are you a friend?  OK, so you are not a gung-ho evangelist or a committee person.  Did you cut your neighbor's grass or shovel snow?  Were you there to pick up a child who had fallen from his bike?  Sometimes your calling isn't a big thing with a grandiose purpose, but a small thing with gentle impact. 

You never know when your tiniest deed, your seemingly insignificant spoken word, your touch of a hand or kiss on the cheek, your gift of applesauce or venison, your compliment or your saying, "I'm thinking of you" could be the hope that makes someone go on for another day.

I am reminded today that one has to take stock in one's position in life on a regular basis. One has to listen carefully to find out if God has a new reason for you to be alive. As circumstances change, maybe your calling has, too. 

Maybe my words fall on deaf ears.  Maybe you are at best agnostic, even an atheist who denies the existence of the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer. I will pray that He reveals Himself to you, and that your purpose and your calling are made clear to you.  Perhaps your calling, be it as a secretary or a tool-maker or maintenance worker, is exactly where God wants you to be. Ask, and He will show Himself.

There are two kinds of people...those who have a purpose in life and those who accept chaos.
Or those who choose a calling instead of those who are led to it.
Or those who wallow in their loneliness and misery and those who reach out of their comfort zone for help.

Sometimes we need to be reminded of which kind of person we are.