seank.mitchell@yahoo.com

       Earlier this year, I read Max Lucado’s most recent book, The Cure for the Common Life. Knowing Lucado to be a great storyteller, I was inspired to dip into my back pocket and purchase the book. Other authors have previously published something relating to the content of the book, that of discovering and developing your personal passion and calling, however, Lucado’s presentation might be one of the best I have read.

      After I put Lucado’s book down for the last time, I came upon a familiar question. I had heard it after listening to other presentations on this subject of calling, life work, and passion. This was it: Is it true—does everyone have a personal, unique calling that is to be his or her joyful life work? Looking at the September calendar, there seems to be no better time than now to think about this question and respond to it prayerfully and with awe. On September 4^th, many workers will have the day off in honor of a holiday. The day is called Labor Day, and until a few days ago, I could not have added any substance to a conversation surrounding this day of personal retreat. Now I know more than a few details and joyfully embrace the spiritual significance of this day. 

      Labor Day is a celebration of the American worker. The celebration is to include a reflective remembrance of the process of work and all its accomplishments. The development of industries, the income it provides, the legacies that are created, and the families that are supported are each part of the workplace’s external ripple effect. But there is also another ripple effect, the internal one.

      For many, the internal ripple effect isn’t a positive one. I could list more than a handful of people with whom I have spoken in the last two weeks who don’t like their jobs. They dread Sunday evenings, as it represents the eve of their return to the place they don’t want to be. I wonder if they think it’s true—that is, that everyone has a personal, unique calling that is to be their life work? Lucado and the other authors seem to suggest it is true, yet are they out of touch with what is going on in real life? Better yet, where is God in this discussion, and what is His calling for our everyday lives?

      One reflection leads us back to the Bible. Our real life search for the will of God is answered with actual, relevant Scriptural teachings. The teachings are the words we have read before, such as pray for your enemies. This is clearly God’s will for our life, but how much of our prayerfulness is actually spent in prayer for those who mistreat us, threaten our emotional stability, and make our work environment uncomfortable? Richard Foster says that to pray is to change—and imagine the change this kind of praying could bring about in us. Compassion, forgiveness, and a love we can’t imagine would blossom in us for those we deem unlovable. Prayer for our enemies would change us; yet, because we are talking about change, we really cannot predict or create a blueprint for the kind of people we would become through change. Our work attitudes, ethic, dialogues, and even our life passion could all be transformed and given a new way of life in the place of change, a place brought about through prayer. Living on this journey of prayerful change is God’s will for our lives. 

      A second reflection about work has to do with passion. When I was studying theology in school, I had friends who were pursuing knowledge in other disciplines. Some of my friends were studying law, some counseling, and some business. As different as our academic interests were, we did have one thing in common: Each of us were passionate about what we were studying. Some were there on scholarship, some taking out loans to make it happen, but all of us were firmly committed to what we sensed as God’s calling on our lives. I don’t think all of us in those various graduate programs were missing God’s will for our lives because we were pursuing our various passions. Instead, I think most of us were right on track because we were listening to passion, believing that God had formed us with the inner interests we each had. 

      Over the last several years, I have read and written often. I have a passion for reading books and also for writing them. Others I know don’t enjoy writing as I do, and they look at me in amazement over the discipline it takes to craft a manuscript. Turn it around, and I look at these same people in bewilderment for their discipline with their own craft and life work. 

      For a few, the most interesting thing about my writing is that it is done as a side interest. I am not a full-time writer; instead, I have a full-time career and have to find pockets of time on the side for writing. I am able to find such time because I enjoy it so much, believe God has called me to do it, and think I would be wasting my gifting if I didn’t do it. You could say I write out of a desire to be a good steward of the ideas and thoughts God has put on my heart. 

      Again, not everyone is gifted to write or has the desire to illuminate the Gospel of Jesus through a keypad. But gifted, called, and internally designed we all are. Uniquely made, individually skilled, beautifully woven is each of us. Life should be lived with a few values in mind, and one of our values should be to uncover our internal uniqueness. Here are a few questions I recommend to begin such a study:

      What craft, skill, hobby, career are you passionate about? 

      Where are your talents and gifts? What do others say are your gifts? 

      What work, craft, or activity gives you a feeling of joy and meaning when you do it? 

      Why would God uniquely gift you?

 Earlier, I posed the question: Does everyone have a personal, unique calling that is to be his or her joyful life work? After thinking about uniqueness and discovering some of it, the answer to this question is a resounding YES. One thing to remember, however, is that the things we most enjoy doing do not always become the jobs that pay the bills. Like I have had to do with writing, you may have to work out your giftings in a way to be a good steward, even if it means you get nothing tangible from it other than knowing that God is enjoying watching you do it. After all, it is for Him we live to please.

      There are other personal reflections I have regarding life work. I find great joy in knowing God is with me now, when I am working on my career and writing on the side. He is in both places helping me reflect further on Himself, His will revealed in Scripture, my calling, and the opportunity of prayer. He is in the places where you live life too. What is He saying to you? Of what gift is He calling you to be a good steward? If not on Labor Day, find some time this month to reflect on your life work and explore the vastness of your soul. 

Copyright Sean K. Mitchell

Sean K. Mitchell is a fundraising consultant and a creative writer. He is also the author of The Financial Pilgrimage, a book that helps Christians embrace a fresh approach to financial decisions and Christian living. For more information on the book or more of Sean’s writings, visit www.seankmitchell.com.