When was the last time you......?

Speaking about vocation is a bit like asking for more Sunday School teachers. The generalised notice at the front of church has pretty much no effect; a few face to face conversations along the ‘have you ever thought of…?’ lines is much more like it.

So two questions:

• When was the last time you seriously asked God what He wants from you and your life?

• When was the last time you asked someone else a question about their own vocation or call?

If the answer to either is ‘not recently’ then maybe you need to prayerfully ask God what He may be saying…

One of my favourite stories recently is about someone attending a vocations course. The course coordinator was not messing around. She made it very clear that vocation is a serious business, that understanding and feeling affirmed in God’s call on our lives is not something to be done lightly or hurriedly. Therefore the course members needed to get their heads in gear and commit to the whole course – no ifs or buts; no lame excuses about missing the odd session. They were here for the duration. And if this particular course coordinator says it’s Wednesday then you really do need to work on the assumption that it’s Wednesday.

So, imagine the fear and trembling of one course participant as she approached the coordinator explaining how she wanted to finish the course early. Nervously she came up at the end of an evening to say that she wasn’t intending to come back for the final two sessions.

There was some significant push back on this until the participant said: ‘Look. I came onto this course as a nurse. I am now absolutely certain that God is calling me to be a nurse. I am absolutely where God wants me to be. I’m sorted.’ Fabulous

Read the rest here.