So, I digress. The quest has begun, what is this “specific” call? What things has God sent into my life recently and what purpose have they served?
Let’s start with a book I received in the mail right after returning from Mexico. It was Forming Intentional Disciples by Sherry Weddell. Sherry is the Co-Director of the Catherine of Siena Institute in Colorado Springs. Their mission is to equip parishes to form lay Catholics for their mission in the world. I’d attended a Called and Gifted Workshop at Holy Trinity over the summer and had become a patron of the institute providing a small monthly contribution (very small) to help them fulfill their mission.
I’d known about the book coming out but I didn’t expect to receive one. You see, I was a little delinquent in my giving. When my debit VISA expired and I received a new one, the institute could no longer process my monthly contribution. My tendency to procrastinate had led to me not rectifying this situation. Still, I received an envelope in the mail with a copy of the book, signed by Sherry. Wow! Talk about grace.
What better way to get some specific answers than to start reading this book. I read over a third of it in a few short days and things started to come into focus for me. Things I’d discerned in the past, combined with this were reinforcing my feelings that I’m supposed to be helping people grow though the sharing of my own experiences and the teaching of what I’ve learned. What was becoming clearer was how my faith was supposed to play a role in this. Gets me misty-eyed just thinking about it.
You know, that reminds me of something I read by Steve Pavlina about this very subject a few years back. If you’ve struggled with those feelings that God put you here to do more than what you’re doing right now perhaps this will help. I’ve quoted him below…
“Here’s what to do:
- Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a word processor where you can type (I prefer the latter because it’s faster).
- Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
- Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
- Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose.”
Why would this work over a heartfelt discernment process involving much prayer and counseling? What he writes next may hold the key…
“Usually it takes 15-20 minutes to clear your head of all the clutter and the social conditioning about what you think your purpose in life is. The false answers will come from your mind and your memories. But when the true answer finally arrives, it will feel like it’s coming to you from a different source entirely.”
I was so scared of what I’d learn from Pavlina’s exercise that I never did it. Tell ya what I did do, though. Fast forward a few years to a conference I attended in Denver. Our icebreaker exercise was to draw a picture that described our dream job. Each person would stand and talk about their picture and then it would be hung on the wall at the front of the conference room. I drew a stage in a theater and there I was standing on the stage talking to an audience. I stood up when it was my turn and my voice cracked and my knees felt a little weak as I told the room of people my dream job was a personal development author, coach and speaker.
Yup, it works…
God bless,