Now almost forty
years later I still keep journeying, and it is difficult to say if I have found the calling in my life.
Calling, to
me, embodied what I did to give maximum joy, sense of satisfaction and
accomplishment, and more importantly being aware that I was fulfilling a role
in life beyond myself, being a channel of God’s blessing to others. People who find their calling or what gives
them purpose and maximum joy early in life are very fortunate. They are the ones who arrive at their
destination directly. I must confess
that it was not so with me. My life’s journey has been
a voyage of exploration and i am still
on the road traveling.
Finding
calling in life meant assuming diverse roles
and accepting various situations - student, social
worker, surgeon,
scientist, teacher - in India, in Bhutan, in Australia, in small mission
hospitals or outposts, in state of the art tertiary centres. A single overwhelming sense of calling
persisted through the decades – the desire to be a healer, to be an instrument
of healing for the injured, whether physical, psychological, emotional or
relational.
I do not
equate calling to career. To me career is a job which provides the means to live.
Sometimes your career and your calling merge and then the synergy leads to
immense satisfaction.
At
different phases in my life I have considered varying career options, pilot, priest, researcher,
and administrator. But whatever career I
have chosen I believe I may have persisted in seeking to be a healer. The urge to heal has been the recurring
compulsion,
perhaps the mission of my life. Often my career helped me to fulfil my calling. There were times when the healing was merely
superficial.
As I look
back at life, it is on those occasions when my career enabled me to be a healer
in its holistic sense that I
found pure joy and subsequently developed a passion for
that experience.
Passion, in my understanding,
is that which inspires one to choose
a preferred way of working and living that permeates every aspect of life. It is
the one thing in life that
you want to experience and which makes you willing to forego many other things in life.
But now we
go on to the difficult question of how one realises one’s calling or find a
passionate pursuit in life? Many of us
(assuming my readers are associated with health care in some way) were
convinced that we wanted to be involved in medical care while we were growing
up, well before embarked on formal medical training. This conviction may have
been influenced by our perception that this is a profession which is a means to
attain status, position, power, prestige or becoming wealthy. But none of these
in itself can bring happiness or fulfilment.
Search and discover your God- given gift
I believe
that in each of us God has placed an inherent ability or
gift. Ssome of us are creative and artistic, some of us have the ability to be
good listeners, some are patient, some of us can be persistent and persevering
even while doing mundane repetitive tasks. Some have a taste for adventure; others
are good with people management skills or networking. A few are good at writing
or are articulate. I feel that we should
look for a career in an area of medicine that will potentiate our natural God-
given gift or talent.
Having
then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us,let us use them
–Romans 12:6
Look for what gives you maximum joy
We should
look for an avenue that gives us the most joy while we are doing it, be it
teaching, surgery, administration, research or patient care. At various stages in my life I have had the opportunity
to play these different parts.
Interestingly I felt elated when I managed to align these roles to my
desire to be a healer. It is difficult
to find Joy in being a teacher if you are uncomfortable being with young people
or is a poor communicator. It is difficult
to be happy in a sterile research laboratory if your desire is to interact with
people. You can not be a paediatrician
and dislike noisy children. Look for
avenues that will give you joy and fulfilment.
Ask and you will recieve, that your joy may be
full-John 16:24
Follow your dream
Each of us has
dreams about life. Dreams, plans and ambition are necessary and very often they
embody a desire that you want to achieve beyond reality and limitations. Dreams
can inspire one to move beyond the ordinary and at times to something
spectacular. Dreams inspire you into
action, but without action dreams will remain mere dreams. Several of my dreams have remained elusive,
but many have been fulfilled. We must
dare to dream and carry our dreams in our heart.
"And
it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh;
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
dreams, your young men shall see visions:"-Joel 2:28
Don’t be afraid to be a failure
When there
are choices to make in life, any of us can make the wrong choice or fail in
what we set out to do. Do not be disheartened because if any one says that they
have not made a mistake they are not being truthful. Or else they have not tried anything bold
in life. God and life always give every one another chance
in life, may be not the
same things to choose from, but frequently something different and better. Do not be afraid to fail
or make a mistake.
So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his
wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay
was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it
seemed good to the potter to do
Jermiah 18:3,4
Have a plan
Have a
rough road map of where you want to go in life. Everything may not go according
to plan. Be ready to stop, take detours, and change directions along the way.
It is always good to have a rough plan or mental map of your trip. Having a plan makes the expedition easier.
I am the Lord your God, Who teaches
you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go. Isaiah 48:17
Start some where
No matter
how fantastic your dreams are, how much of details you have planned and mapped
out your course, unless you set out you will never get there. Opportunities do not come looking for us; we
have to look out for them. Sometimes we have to work hard to create opportunities
in the challenges we face. So get off
your seat and start.
.Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good
pleasure. Philippians 2: 12-13
Start small
Most great endeavours
started small and most great lives had modest beginnings. Our tendency is to look for million dollar opportunities
and miss the apparently insignificant ones which may eventually turn out to be massive
ventures with hard work and perseverance. We wait for spectacular opportunities to come
by while we let ordinary ones slip by, which may eventually turn out to be magnificent. Do not disregard the small and the ordinary openings.
Though
thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.
Job 8:7
Be accepting of life
Accept what
life gives you. I have not got many things I wanted in life. That made me realise one is not given what one
likes, but when one starts liking whatever one gets life becomes meaningful. Accept what life offers you rather than only
accepting what you like.
for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.-Philipians 4:11
Have an attitude of gratitude
Fulfilment
in life or finding your calling does not happen in a day. It
is good to have an
attitude of gratitude for the ordinary opportunities each day. This adds to the joy of each day and makes you look
forward to life and the good things life and career have to offer. It also
helps you to cope with disappointments and obstacles along your voyage. Be grateful for small
steps of progress on the sojourn.
Be
joyful always; pray continually;give thanks in all circumstances,for this is
Gods will for you in christ jesus -1Thessolonians
5:16-18
Seek
Gods Will
Some times in frantic planning and cativity
one cannot hear the small voice of God promting us about Gods will in our
lives. It is in moments of quietness reading the word of God , in prayer or
some times silent contemplation that i have had the sense of Gods promtings and
leadings in many choices I have made. At times it has been through the voice of
those who love me and care for me like teachers, family as well as close
friends.
I wait
for the lord,my soul waits and in his word I put my hope-Psalms103:5
Trust in God’s guidance and His goodness
Finally
trust God and His goodness. He knows us, our desires, and our capabilities more
than we ourselves. He can correct our mistakes and compensate for our bad
choices and make our life beautiful. Discovering your calling is a life long journey
Who ever can completly accept the will of God
in every situation has learned something which will fill oned life with peace
and joy
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar