A Calling

The past few months of my life have been very eye-opening. I feel that everyone reaches a point in their life when they realize what is most important. They begin to see how insignificant or immature certain activities are that they once spent so much time worrying about. I also feel that each Christian who is a true disciple of Jesus Christ will get to a point in life when they realize their calling on Earth. The past couple of years I have prayed about my calling and have been so confused about what I should do with my life. I knew so many things that it was NOT. God has always known his plan for me, but waited until I was able to realize the important things in life. I grew up knowing to put God first, but that does not mean I did. To put God first is to put sports and academics behind him. Those are easy, but how about putting family and friends behind God? In Luke 9 Jesus explains to a couple men that wish to be his disciples that they must put family and friends behind. Jesus is saying that to be fit and prepared for the Kingdom of God one must be able to leave the lost souls.

I have always wanted to go out and serve in other countries, but something kept holding me back. Mainly it was the thought of not only leaving friends and family, but as well as the lost here in America. Those passages in Luke help me to see that ones calling may cause them to leave the lost behind as well as everything else. Not everyone has a calling outside of the country and there are true disciples of Christ that stay put such as teachers, preachers, etc. But I feel that I am called to help serve others overseas. I am no preacher, I can only hope that through my service others may see Jesus. The thought of going to Zambia in the Fall gives me great peace and joy within, knowing that I am doing the right thing. For the first time in my academic career I have a purpose for learning and feel like God will place me in the right spot at the right time.

I have enjoyed reading about different missionaries throughout the world and there is one trend that I have began to see. Each missionary that seems to have much success did not hesitate to leave their friends, family, job or school when they felt a calling to leave. This does not mean that they did not prepare for their missions through studying medicine, language, and more; it means they were in tune with what Jesus had planned for them. I pray that one day I can find that connection of inner peace and joy with Jesus that will confidently lead me in the correct direction. Until then I plan to continue my education and study successful ways of reaching out to people in other countries and making a difference. I hope to continue a blog throughout my time in Africa and record some day to day things that may have stuck out to me.