Calling

Here's an excerpt from a really insightful article that I
read today about how Christians work out their life calling.
It certainly resonated deeply with me.

For the full article go to:
http://jazzymoo.multiply.com/journal/item/1

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GRACE@WORK MAIL 11/07
[March 16, 2007 Edition]

Commentary: One Life to Live

How do we discover our vocation? I believe discovering our
vocation is a life long journey. A good starting place is to
consider the primary calls on our lives. We have been called
to love God with all our heart,soul, mind and strength, and
to love our neighbour as ourselves (Mark 12:29-31). With my
abilities, burdens and opportunities how do I best
love God and neighbour at this point of my life?

And here is Frederick Buechner's oft quoted advice:

"By and large a good rule for finding out (your life calling)
is this: the kind of work God usually calls you to do is the
kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the
world most needs to have done. If you really get a kick out
of your work, you've presumably met requirement (a), but if
your work is writing cigarette ads, the chances are you've
missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is
being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met
requirement (b) but if most of the time you're bored and
depressed by it, chances are you have not only bypassed (a),
but probably aren't helping your patients much either.
Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place
God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and
the world's deep hunger meet."

(Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, 
New York: Harper & Row, 1973, p.95.)