I didn't grow up in a Christian home. I first went to church my freshman year of high school. A friend invited me to youth group and that triggered my faith journey. I remember looking at the pastor and his wife desiring to have parents like them. I had this vision of how a godly home ran and operated.
When I got married, I had a vision of a Christ-centered marriage. My husband would lead us daily in prayer. We would work through marriage devotionals together. When we had kids, we would all sit around the dinner table reading the Bible and praying. All kids fully in-tune and attentive. Seriously. This is how I envisioned my home to function.
Then, life happened.
We all have visions. We dream of what and how life should play out. When what we had envisioned doesn't come to light, we are disappointed or think we have done something wrong. But, when we sit back and evaluate the situation, we see that life is good even though it doesn't mirror the way we thought.
The same holds true for our calling. Christian culture likes to talk a lot about God's calling on our lives. We all believe we are here for a purpose uniquely designed by God. The difficult part of this calling is trying to figure out exactly what we should be doing and what that looks like.
I absolutely know what my calling is in this season of my life. Hands-down, I am fully confident in this calling knowing He placed me here. However, here is where I get hung up: my calling does not look like I had imagined. While I am doing exactly what I feel called to do, it looks vastly different than I thought it would. If I am being honest, sometimes, this discourages me. I am not as far along as I thought I'd be right now. I question my abilities to handle my calling. I know He makes me capable, but I still doubt myself.
I believe many of us are this way. We have a vision for our calling and God's way and design looks different. Because we don't have a match, we question and doubt often walking away from what He has called us to do. We can't surrender our vision to his calling because surely, that's not what He has for us.
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
We are faithful. We pray continuously. We go to church. We attend Bible study and memorize Scripture with our children. We are good at "delighting" ourselves in the Lord. Why then, is he not giving us the desires of our hearts. We have passions. We were created with purpose for a purpose. We are called and willing to answer that call. Yet, our lives are not mirroring our vision. Why?
Because when we delight in him, our desires align with his desires for us. Yes, he created us for a specific reason (which I believe changes and grows as we mature). But, sometimes our perception is off. It is me-centered with a desire for pomp and circumstance while he is asking us to love on our neighbor. Well, that's not fancy.
I have come to realize that my calling in this great big world is much smaller than I had anticipated. Yet, when it comes to eternity and things beyond this planet, it is extravagant. Our callings don't need glitz and glamour so we can stop waiting for the phone to ring with the news of the next big deal. We can let go of how many likes we get on a certain post. We can find freedom in releasing ourselves from the need to perform. We don't need a popular YouTube channel to advance the kingdom
You keep doing you and your calling will explode. Stay committed to those little things he is calling you to for those truly are the big things. Ask him to show you along the way that you are on the right track. I know when I get discouraged that I am not doing enough, being enough, creating enough for this so-called calling, he sends me a note in the mail or a text of encouragement to remind me that I am on the right track.
Callings look different than we had envisioned when they finally play out. That doesn't mean they are wrong or insignificant. Quite the contrary. Be joyful and full of praise when what he calls you to doesn't match what you played out in your head for I can truly promise you it is SO much better!
Stay the course, friend! You have a purpose. This world needs you.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
When I got married, I had a vision of a Christ-centered marriage. My husband would lead us daily in prayer. We would work through marriage devotionals together. When we had kids, we would all sit around the dinner table reading the Bible and praying. All kids fully in-tune and attentive. Seriously. This is how I envisioned my home to function.
Then, life happened.
We all have visions. We dream of what and how life should play out. When what we had envisioned doesn't come to light, we are disappointed or think we have done something wrong. But, when we sit back and evaluate the situation, we see that life is good even though it doesn't mirror the way we thought.
The same holds true for our calling. Christian culture likes to talk a lot about God's calling on our lives. We all believe we are here for a purpose uniquely designed by God. The difficult part of this calling is trying to figure out exactly what we should be doing and what that looks like.
I absolutely know what my calling is in this season of my life. Hands-down, I am fully confident in this calling knowing He placed me here. However, here is where I get hung up: my calling does not look like I had imagined. While I am doing exactly what I feel called to do, it looks vastly different than I thought it would. If I am being honest, sometimes, this discourages me. I am not as far along as I thought I'd be right now. I question my abilities to handle my calling. I know He makes me capable, but I still doubt myself.
I believe many of us are this way. We have a vision for our calling and God's way and design looks different. Because we don't have a match, we question and doubt often walking away from what He has called us to do. We can't surrender our vision to his calling because surely, that's not what He has for us.
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4
We are faithful. We pray continuously. We go to church. We attend Bible study and memorize Scripture with our children. We are good at "delighting" ourselves in the Lord. Why then, is he not giving us the desires of our hearts. We have passions. We were created with purpose for a purpose. We are called and willing to answer that call. Yet, our lives are not mirroring our vision. Why?
Because when we delight in him, our desires align with his desires for us. Yes, he created us for a specific reason (which I believe changes and grows as we mature). But, sometimes our perception is off. It is me-centered with a desire for pomp and circumstance while he is asking us to love on our neighbor. Well, that's not fancy.
I have come to realize that my calling in this great big world is much smaller than I had anticipated. Yet, when it comes to eternity and things beyond this planet, it is extravagant. Our callings don't need glitz and glamour so we can stop waiting for the phone to ring with the news of the next big deal. We can let go of how many likes we get on a certain post. We can find freedom in releasing ourselves from the need to perform. We don't need a popular YouTube channel to advance the kingdom
You keep doing you and your calling will explode. Stay committed to those little things he is calling you to for those truly are the big things. Ask him to show you along the way that you are on the right track. I know when I get discouraged that I am not doing enough, being enough, creating enough for this so-called calling, he sends me a note in the mail or a text of encouragement to remind me that I am on the right track.
Callings look different than we had envisioned when they finally play out. That doesn't mean they are wrong or insignificant. Quite the contrary. Be joyful and full of praise when what he calls you to doesn't match what you played out in your head for I can truly promise you it is SO much better!
Stay the course, friend! You have a purpose. This world needs you.
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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