Living Your Calling

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The spilled batch of homemade laundry detergent finally pushed me over the edge.

I’d been experimenting for a while with homemade cleaners. Cheaper. Earth-friendly. And I liked the image of myself as the kind of mom who made her own cleaning supplies. If nothing else, it was a great topic for playgroup conversation.

But standing there with gloppy liquid oozing over my toes, it hit me:

This is not me.

It’s not that making your own cleaning supplies is a bad thing. It just wasn’t my thing. Being “housekeeping challenged,” to begin with, why did I want to add layers to my household chores? Mixing up batches of homemade cleaners might give me playgroup cred, but it also gave me reasons for procrastination. Out of all purpose tea tree oil cleaner? Oh well. The bathrooms can wait another day. Candy Crush, anyone?

As moms, we often feel pressured to conform to different molds. Fit mom. Budget mom. Pinterest mom. Clean mom. The “sure, invite your friends–what’s one more mom.” Like clothes that look good on the rack but not on our bodies, we try labels on for size hoping one will magically make us more like the person we want to be.

What if instead we sought out who God wants us to be? When we can identify the patterns and purposes by which God works in our lives, it gives us a filter for our yes’s and no’s. Knowing our calling helps us find the right fit for our souls.

How do you know when you are living in your calling?

  • Calling is energy giving. Realizing I had to make up a fresh batch of laundry detergent before tackling the ceiling high pile of dirty clothes just added to my to-do list and made me feel even more behind. In contrast, preparing a solid Bible study lesson make me feel energized and ready to tackle the world. Living in our calling produces energy.
  • Calling is an expression of your personality. If the God who wove you in the womb prepared good works for you to do before the foundation of the world, doesn’t it make sense that he wants you to do that as your authentic self? If you’re content to work behind the scenes, don’t feel like you have to force yourself onto the stage. If you’re the kind of person who brings the party with her, then let yourself shine in all your exuberance. Our callings should resonate with the core of who we are.
  • Calling fits with the pattern of God’s work in your life. I can see how even at a young age God was planting a love for words and a gift for teaching in my life. Consider the moments when you knew in your bones God was using you. What have others affirmed in you? What do those moments have in common?
  • Calling lets God’s love flow through you. One of my friends is a gifted cook. Cooking is an expression of her creativity and something she delights in. Gathering people around her table is an expression of God’s love. In the same way, exercising our calling is a way to live out the gospel. Living out our calling makes us channels of God’s love.

Finding our calling is finding that place where we live as God made us to be. Living in our calling frees us to be our best selves, conforming to Christ’s image instead of someone else’s mold. How are you living your calling?

Image credit:  Sunset Girl via Unsplash

2 Responses to Living Your Calling
  1. Barbie
    July 27, 2014 | 1:37 am

    Such beautiful truth. His calling means rest to me. It means I don’t have to strive to do something, things will come naturally, easier. Blessings!

  2. Vinz
    October 1, 2014 | 9:17 am

    Very moving! Thanks for sharing this very inspiring article! We are all unique in our own way because God created us in our own image.