Listening for the Calling 

 

 

June is a time of transition. Millions of children, youth and young adults are concluding a school year, sometimes graduating to the next level of schooling, or moving out into the working world. Lots of parents are thinking about how to manage these transitions and what their role is now with their children.

 

Couples have made plans to marry and are in the last stages of preparation for the big day. Even if we don't have a big event in our lives this month we feel the shifting energy in the air, as summer arrives.

           

I think that June is a great time to think about our vocations. (Yes, I am thinking about vocations, not vacations, though those are important too!) The word "vocation" comes from the Latin word for calling and means how God is calling us into the world. When we are practicing our calling, we feel in sync with who we are and why we are here; so discovering and living out our calling is crucial to our sense of meaningful participation in the world.

 

Most people think of vocation in connection to their job, but if we feel a strong connection to Christianity, our vocation is very closely linked to sharing God's love in the world. Whether we are running the company or emptying the wastebaskets and cleaning up, what matters is more the love we bring to this day in our lives and the people we meet than the title we hold and the amount of the paycheck we earn.

 

Since June is a time of transition and change, it is a great time to review why we are here. If you would like to do that, especially in reference to your spiritual life, I would be delighted to have some conversations with you about your vocation, what God may be calling you to do. It might be time for something new or a time to think about what you have been doing in a new way. One of my favorite inspirational writers, Father Thomas Keating, suggests that we live our "ordinary lives with extraordinary love." That pretty well sums it up for me. Want to talk about it?

--Stephen