Vocation

Bech spoke to the junior high and high school chapel the other day. He was SUPER nervous (Bech hates public speaking) but his talk was great. He talked about vocation, and it really got me thinking.

First of all, he said that the term vocation comes from the latin term "vocare," which means to call. It was applied to men in the middle ages who felt called by God to become monks. Vocation was used for a calling within the church. I like that because I feel that our jobs, whether they be with or outside of a church, should and are callings from God.

Bech and I have been talking about vocation a lot lately, because we are trying to figure out what we are supposed to do with our lives. I feel like often times in our world, the Christian community still only thinks of God calling you to a job if it is within the church or a ministry of some sort. But Paul says that whatever we do, we should do it for the glory of God. Therefore our lives are a calling to, to glorify God.

I also think our jobs are supposed to be enjoyable to us. The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is, "What is man's primary purpose?" or "What is the chief end of man?" The answer is "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." We are supposed to enjoy life here. I don't mean by that that life will always be fun or easy, or any of those things. I mean, that as Christians, we should enjoy work, family, community, and mostly God.

It is easy to get caught up in trying to do what you are good at. But the truth is, we are all good at several things. I envy the person who can claim to be good at only one thing...I am sure he found picking his career quite easy of a task! And I do think we should do what we are good at. In order to glorify God, we need to do things well! Look at our example! God has shown himself to be the perfect artist and scientist through creation. He is the perfect author through His words. Everything He does, He does perfectly, with absolute beauty.

I often get frustrated because Christian musicians will create music that isn't very good. They think they are glorifying God because they are making music for Him. But if anyone deserves amazing music...it's Him! So I shouldn't be a songwriter...I can't strum a guitar or carry a tune very well. And I should definitely not be an actress...I want to die in front of other people.

I feel like in order to find what we are called to be, we need to find the middle ground between what we can do well to the glory of God and what we love to do. That is what is so hard to do! It doesn't help that everyone will pick up on what you can do well...and just because you can do something, doesn't mean you love it or should work in that field. Bech was describing how, because he is a great listener (which he is), people used to tell him he should be a therapist. But he loves to make pots, and bowls, and plates. I was good at science all throughout school, so people always told me I should be a doctor. But I don't love science at all (the fact that I told my med school interviewer that I "didn't really like science" can attest to that...needless to say, I was not accepted!). This is what I am struggling with...finding how I can both glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

Alright, sorry for such a serious post...I just wanted to share the thoughts going through my head. Also, I have an update on Nya. They are in South Africa, and she is doing MUCH better. Her platelet count is up, and they might have figured out the problem. And it is raining here!!! Yay! We need rain! Rain grows maize, and maize feeds the country. I actually videod the rain, because it is coming down so hard, so I will try to upload that.